Protected: Painter Of The Night: The shadow and the light
Category: Jihwa
Painter Of The Night: “Secrecy and perpetrator” (third version)
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
“In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure no one listens.” ― Judith Lewis Herman, Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror
After reading this quote, it becomes understandable why Yoon Seungho not only repressed his first rape, but also was encouraged to forget it and to live with memory loss. The manhwaphiles could witness how Judith Lewis Herman’s quote was applied right after the sexual assault, when the butler made sure to attack Yoon Seungho’s credibility. 
He tried to silence the main lead with guilt and fear. Note how the poor boy has to beg for the servant’s mercy, which reminds us of the physician’s reaction in the same chapter: 
Both characters are grabbing the valet’s clothes. This exposes that both were put in the same situation: their innocence and ignorance were used against them, making them speechless. However, Kim was not the rapist himself, he was just the helping hand of the perpetrator. [Imagine how my first essay about Kim “The helping hand” fits his personality so perfectly, although I had portrayed him in a good light]. I have to admit that after writing the analysis “Interpretation of a nightmare”, I kept thinking about the identity of the culprit.
One might say that the culprit’s identity is now clear. It’s lord Song, especially if the manhwaworms take the following panels into consideration: 
. However, this is not correct, because Yoon Seungho is suffering from memory loss, hence he can not be connecting lord Song to his first sexual assault rather to the second rape and betrayal. Therefore I come to the conclusion that the main lead and his friend have been misled that only lord Song is responsible for the protagonist’s suffering. That’s why the main lead associates his suffering to lord Song. Yet, he has repressed the first sexual assault in the domestic quarters. 
(chapter 74) On the other hand, the manhwaphiles should remember how scared Kim was
, when he heard about a meeting between lord Song and Yoon Seungho. He definitely didn’t want them to meet 
for the simple reason that if the main character had encountered his so-called enemy, lord Song could have been able to defend himself and claim that he was not responsible. Since according to my theory, lord Song is the king and has been hiding his identity, it is possible that the real meeting would have revealed the lies told by Kim. But there’s another reason why I am suspecting two perpetrators responsible for Yoon Seungho’s suffering. The manhwaphiles shouldn’t forget that Baek Na-Kyum has attracted the attention of two nobles: the main lead and Black Heart. The former did rape the painter 
(chapter 25) and the second aristocrat planned to assault the artist sexually too.
(chapter 56). So we have two perpetrators in my opinion. There’s no doubt that the main culprit is the king, nevertheless I believe that the first culprit is as guilty as the monarch, for after that incident, father Yoon chose to train his son as prostitute. The manhwaphiles will certainly recall that after the artist’s rape, the scholar brought back the low-born with the intention of treating him as a spying prostitute. 
(chapter 29) That’s why I came to realize that we should look for two old bearded men.
Besides, since I had elaborated that the man was able to trespass the propriety without getting noticed, it meant that he was acquainted with the mansion and the family. That’s why it can not be be lord Song, because Jihwa only knows his name. In other words, the perpetrator must have been close to father Yoon. Then we have another clue about the rapist’s identity:
He was rather old and had a beard. Because Yoon Seungho was just a teenager, old should be relativized. It just meant that the man was already married and had his own family. Thereby none of the single aristocrats around Yoon Seungho and Min have a beard. 
They are not married, so they are still considered as young. To sum up, the man with a beard was acquainted with father Yoon, hence he had the opportunity to meet the young prodigy and started lusting after him. 
And then I had suddenly this revelation. We already met an old bearded man: 
(chapter 67) Yes, father Lee! 😱 First, Lee Jihwa was a childhood friend from the main lead, which means that father Lee and father Yoon were close. Moreover, the man must have brought his son to the mansion and used this as an excuse to watch the young man from afar. Besides, the second lead is someone who used to sneak in the main lead’s propriety.
Let’s not forget that the story keeps repeating itself, hence this means technically that the father could have done the same. He chose to trespass the propriety in order to taste the young man. Like father, like son. With such a description, it signifies that father Leee was exactly like Min, who felt that he had been bewitched by Yoon Seungho 
(chapter 43) and could no longer resist this temptation. (chapter 56) Hence he asked for Kim’s help. We know for sure that the valet will never defend anyone, only his own interest, because he would like to lead a peaceful life. The problem is that Jihwa was himself attracted to the main lead, and when Jihwa and Yoon Seungho were caught due to an erotic painting [for further details: https://bebebisous33analyses.com/2021/01/25/painter-of-the-night-painting-and-desires-part-2/] , Father Yoon decided to separate the children. 
(chapter 57) Thus father Lee could no longer use Jihwa as a justification for his visitations. Moreover, it looks like the young boy was imprisoned in the servants’ quarter. Therefore, father Lee had no longer the opportunity to see Yoon Seungho, which is quite similar to Min’s method. The latter used the painting as a reason for his second visit
and later tried to engage a discussion with the main lead and the painter because of a painting
. Strictly speaking, father Lee utilized his son to approach the protagonist. From my point of view, the culprit is definitely similar to Black Heart, because the latter has the impression that he has been bewitched, that he just needs to taste him and after that, his thirst will be satisfied.
And now with this new theory, we would have explanations to the reasons why father Lee neglected his son. The latter was just using Jihwa to approach the main lead, and after tasting the young man, he had definitely no reason to repeat this, because the young boy didn’t react, like he had envisioned it. The manhwaphiles should recall that The Joker has been eyeing the painter because of his facial expressions and gaze oozing purity and attraction.
(chapter 33) So it is definitely possible that father Lee was attracted to Yoon Seungho’s face
. But the rape triggered the opposite reaction in Yoon Seungho. Hence the culprit’s lust vanished. And this would represent the only divergence with Min, for the latter was not bothered by Baek Na-Kyum’s shocked expression with the kiss.
Moreover, the enemies and betrayers are often the one closest to the main characters, see for example the scholar who backstabbed and abandoned Baek Na-Kyum on many occasions. Kim did the same to his master Yoon Seungho. He even created false memories. Moreover, we have Heena who hurt her brother through her words and actions, just like Jihwa did to his childhood friend. The two characters wounded the protagonists out of love. So why not father Lee betraying his acquaintance, the eldest master Yoon?
Moreover, if you pay attention to father Lee’s reactions in chapter 67, you’ll notice three important aspects. First, he is shaking out fear. This can’t be explained with the presence of the sword, for the main lead had already stated that he wouldn’t cause too much trouble
and the head of the family was not the target. Yoon Seungho was even quite respectful towards father Lee. One might say that he was shaking out of anger due to the uproar. However, the father even yelled before. Moreover, his discomfort kept increasing despite the calm words from the main lead. First, a drop of a sweat appeared on his face
, then his face was getting redder and redder. At the end, he was even trembling. Both are a sign of fear and embarrassment. Why? My theory that he is the rapist could give the explanation for such a reaction.
On the other hand, one could argue that Yoon Seungho mentioned the presence of old bearded men, indicating that father Lee couldn’t have been alone. Yet, the readers shouldn’t forget that in the rape in the shed we had another person involved: Kim. And the man is also an old bearded man! 
Imagine that after so many years, the main lead faces his rapist and it is definitely possible that he could remember the incident. When father Lee heard about the main lead’s barging, he just rushed to his son’s side without thinking, yet once meeting each other, he is reminded of his own crime. We shouldn’t forget that Kim had also repressed the rape, but he was reminded, when he saw Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho having sex in the shed. 
The father could have a similar reaction. He had totally forgotten the incident, until he saw his face again. What caught my attention is the following panel:
How could the protagonist sully the Lee family name any further? This means that there could be more than the ruckus he created. And since the aristocrat spoke before about a business he had to deal with Jihwa, father Lee could have interpreted it differently. It could definitely be related to father Lee’s wrongdoing. Yoon Seungho could reveal the father’s crime. Besides, since the eldest master was well aware of this son’s relationship with the main lead, hence it can not be truly linked to sodomy as such. As for the appearances, everyone in town knew the special relationship between Jihwa and the main lead, therefore it was no real secret. And the manhwaphiles should keep in mind this quote:
“If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure no one listens.”
Note how the father is trying to destroy Yoon Seungho’s reputation. First, he points out his debauchery, then he describes him as a scoundrel and beast. If he is the perpetrator, then he is definitely silencing the victim by attacking his reputation so that the moment the protagonist remembers, no one will ever believe him. From my point of view, father Lee never met again the protagonist after the rape, as the latter was sent to the palace. The manhwaphiles have to keep in mind that Jung In-Hun witnessed the rape, but he never intervened, as it didn’t serve his interest. Therefore there’s a high chance that father Yoon saw in the sexual assault a new possibility for Yoon Seungho. We should remember that the protagonist was sent to the servants’ quarter, this signified that the eldest master no longer saw any use in the eldest son. He was exactly like a commoner, he had no value. Concerning father Lee, the experience didn’t meet his expectation, hence he left the boy behind and chose to forget his wrongdoing: Out of sight, out of mind. And this explicates why the man could more or less forget his crime. He was one of those, whose feelings would fade away so quickly: 
Furthermore, by putting the whole blame on Yoon Seungho for his son’s sodomy, it could be his way to avoid any responsibility. He is just trying to wash off his hand, the protagonist was a seductive sodomite right from the start and he is the reason why his son was bewitched later. He is the cause for his “rape” and his son also fell under his spell. The only difference is that Jihwa couldn’t escape from the “witch’s power”, therefore he became a filthy sodomizer.
One might argue that when he saw father Lee, Yoon Seungho didn’t seem flustered or shaken. He was rather calm and had the strength to reply to the lord’s accusation. Thus he didn’t react, like he portrayed himself in chapter 44. However, we shouldn’t underestimate the lord’s fury in that scene. Yoon Seungho was so mad at his former childhood friend due to the abduction, hence his body didn’t react to the presence of an old bearded man. His mind and heart were focused on his childhood friend. Moreover, his statement outlines that he reacts, when he is facing more than one old bearded man. But so far, he only met them separately.
Furthermore, Yoon Seungho’s nightmare only appeared right after meeting father Lee, as the events in chapter 67 and 74 took place during the same day and night. Hence this can not be a coincidence. Facing the perpetrator triggered his memory, thus every incident related to his long suffering resurfaced. However, he still can’t remember the face. He only recalls the hand grabbing him.
Nonetheless, his unconscious is telling him that he should remember the culprit’s face. Note that he is here only looking at one person. Besides, since Kim had a brief recollection of the rape just before father Lee’s appearance, it could be perceived as a clue that the culprit had a similar experience. And both tried to repress it. So imagine this: Father Lee used the main lead’s terrible reputation to keep his distance from him, asking from his son to never meet the protagonist in order to maintain their respectability. Consequently, Lee Jihwa had to hide his relationship from his father, but the father didn’t care. He had the perfect excuse to avoid the main lead. However, the real reason for this escapism was the following. He still feared that the young boy could remember, and now Yoon Seungho has definitely power due to his wealth and connections to officials. In addition, the main lead is no longer under the control of father Yoon.
And if this theory is correct, then it means that the moment Yoon Seungho remembers the first rape, he will recall father Lee’s face. Therefore I doubt that the protagonist will remain passive, he will definitely go after the Lee family. Let’s not forget that Yoon Seungho declared to father Lee that he was now responsible for his son, and he could no longer feign ignorance. 
(chapter 67) In other words, once there’s no secrecy any longer, the lord could retaliate again father Lee and use Jihwa’s misdeeds to punish the father for his crime. And since the father is a coward, he will act like father Yoon, who abandoned his son. Father Lee will turn his back on his own son. The manhwaphiles shouldn’t forget the principle: Jihwa is going to suffer, exactly like the painter and as such Yoon Seungho. Both were betrayed and abandoned by their fathers. In other words, the second lead would pay for the father’s sin, it would be his karma. At the same time he will experience what Yoon Seungho went through, and no longer claim that he truly knows. Envision this: the second lead would be punished for his father’s crime, however Yoon Seungho would use the painter’s kidnapping and Deok-Jae’s death as an excuse for the authorities’ intervention. He might have had a bad reputation, yet Yoon Seungho is a noble and he has definitely some connections to the authorities. Finally, even the noble with the mole pointed out that the artist’s death could have serious consequences. 
So does this theory plausible or not? One thing is sure: the fathers are portrayed in a terrible light: coward, selfish, hypocrite and stupid… and father Lee is no exception. Hence he could have definitely committed a crime, but as a noble he got away, because for the eldest master Yoon, the protagonist was like a commoner, he had no worth at all. That’s why he lived in the servants’ quarter and received a straw mat beating. 
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
Painter Of The Night: A perfect crime? 😱 (second version)
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
Announcement: I updated the essay “Painting and desires – part 2” and “Fire and Darkness: Yoon Seungho”
What is exactly a perfect crime? The definition is that from a legal point, a crime remains either undetected, or unattributed to a perpetrator, or otherwise unsolved due to the lack of evidence. This signifies not only that the perpetrator will never face any legal charge, but also that the crime has been perfectly covered up, because there are no witness and evidence and even in the worst case no official victim. However, for this to happen, it requires great planning implying that the mastermind desired to seek perfection. The condition is that the culprit behind the crime must know exactly what he wants. Besides, the fewer people are involved, the lower the risk is to get caught.
Striking is that on the surface the first kidnapping doesn’t fit these criteria. First, Jihwa was a reluctant criminal, he didn’t truly wish the painter’s death, just to remove him from Yoon Seungho’s side. Moreover, he feared the consequences of this wrongdoing. Third, there were witnesses: the nobles at the party
(chapter 43), Deok-Jae 
and the physician 
. This explains why The Joker could denunciate the second lead’s crime
, although Nameless and Kim had made sure to give the impression that the painter had run away due to the footprints. 
However, there were traces of a kidnapping and sequestration: the wounds on the painter’s face 
(chapter 61) and wrists 
(chapter 66). But back then, the lord, too blinded by his own insecurities and fears, didn’t notice these. As you can observe, it was not a perfect crime, because Yoon Seungho got to discover the truth due to Min’s revelation. But if the lord had investigated it properly, he could have discovered the crime. First, the physician was a witness and he could have seen the bruises. On the other hand, strictly speaking it can be considered as a perfect crime so far, as the culprit (Jihwa) was not arrested and prosecuted. His only punishment was that the lord chose to cut ties with his childhood friend officially. That’s why the main lead visited the Lees’ mansion, he wanted to warn the father. If something strange were to happen again, the lord Lee would have to assume his responsibilities. He wouldn’t just go after Jihwa, but also after the father.
And since the next abduction is around the corner, the manhwaphiles have to question themselves if Black Heart will be able to create a perfect crime. As you can imagine, my answer is no. Why? First, Min doesn’t know exactly what he wants. He is deluding himself that if he tastes Baek Na-Kyum, he can get rid of the artist afterwards. Nevertheless, he couldn’t forget the painting , the kiss and the beautiful legs showing that he is already too obsessed with the painter. But more importantly is that Min and his accomplice Kim are overlooking an important aspect: human nature. Both have the impression that they know Yoon Seungho.
(chapter 33)
(Min, chapter 52). Nonetheless, people can change and as such they can change their habits. In chapter 74, the painter notes the lord’s transformation. 
The latter smiles, is caring and humble. Then lord Na-Kyum describes their daily life: 
As you can observe, they have developed a routine. What caught my attention is the following aspect: the lord’s nightly visits. Only Baek Na-Kyum and the readers know what the lord does there. He gazes at his lover and he gives him a good night kiss at the end. Yet, we shouldn’t forget that the study was the place, where they often had sex. Moreover, the manhwalovers will certainly recall this important sex session in chapter 48-49.
That’s why I come to the conclusion, that for an outsider observing the lord’s moves, it looks like the painter still has sex with his master, when the latter wishes it. After the deal is done, then he leaves the study. And if someone heard the lord’s words in the bathroom, he could definitely get a false impression: 
Besides, according to my theory, the valet heard their conversation during that night (chapter 48-49). Thereby in the butler’s eyes, the painter seems to have finally accepted his role as favored servant and has become submissive, while the noble can satisfy his thirst for sex once in a while. Since it is clear for me that the butler has always viewed his master as a man consumed by sex, he must associate these visits during the night to sex. In his eyes, the lord has not changed. First, he still has sex with the painter who surely won’t love such a man after the way he mistreated him. Secondly, he sits at the window and smokes, exactly like in the past. He might not be angry, but this is because he has no reason to. While the routine is definitely new to Baek Na-Kyum, it looks like the same for the butler. Since the lord has cut ties with Jihwa and his friends, there are no parties, but the lord hasn’t given up on sexual intercourse. Thus I deduce that for someone who has lived so long by the lord’s side, I doubt that Kim can notice the real transformation.
Another important detail is their habits: they spend some time together but after that, they separate. Once in a while, the protagonist brings sweets or visits the study during the night. Striking is that during all this time, the painter couldn’t create a new picture, as his wrist was still injured. 
This means that their routine can now change. Baek Na-Kyum can start painting again. And since I demonstrated in my previous analysis that the protagonist has finally decided to face his own feelings, I come to the deduction that right after his return, he will decide to create a new painting displaying his affection for Yoon Seungho. This signifies that there will be a change in the routine. In my opinion, the painter won’t feel hungry, too focused on his work. Imagine that in chapter 40, he even didn’t eat the sweets. 
(chapter 40) That’s why I believe that during the day and evening, the painter will be too busy with his work that he won’t feel the need to eat anything. There’s no ambiguity that Baek Na-Kyum won’t mention the picture to Yoon Seungho and will hide his action so that the lord ends up eating his meal alone. And remember in my previous prediction called “the purge”, I developed the idea of the drug. Now, I consider this panel as a clue for my theory: 
Here, the physician is asking if the painter is feeling well. Why? It can’t be related to his past testimony, because he shows no sign of real discomfort. This means that he must have heard that Baek Na-Kyum was not feeling alright. As you can anticipate, from my perspective, he must have received Kim’s visit, a new version of chapter 65. Remember that this story is always repeating situations from season 1 and 2. However, this time the butler didn’t frighten the doctor, he must have faked his concern for the artist. The latter had a flashback and now he has sleeping problems due to the kidnapping. He must have also confessed how the commoner was treated by his master after his return. Therefore he needed to give him some drug against insomnia, then the physician must have reply: 
. Consequently, the valet repeated this: 
But since the lord is already taking medicine for his insomnia, like it was mentioned in chapter 55, the doctor must have questioned the butler why he would buy the same medicine, when master Yoon already has his own:
(chapter 33). In season 1, Kim could give the medicine to the maid saying that it was for his health, while in reality it was to give the painter an aphrodisiac. As you can see, the valet is now determined to drug the painter a second time, but this time he should fall asleep so that he can be taken away in his sleep. Kim can’t give the medicine from master Yoon’s, because the maids would question the butler’s intention and they could mention it to the lord. However, it becomes a different story, if he says that it was ordered by lord Yoon due to the flashback, which one of the maids witnessed. As you can see, this is Kim’s MO. He uses people’s ignorance and trust.
The physician is truly a good man, but a stupid and dangerous doctor. Actually, he should realize that with his actions he is committing a crime (negligence) and he knows this, but his doubts are always removed by Kim’s magical word: the lord’s authority. Note that in both episodes 33 
and 65
, the valet abused his position and threatened the doctor, but Yoon Seungho didn’t notice it in chapter 33, as he was too worried about Baek Na-Kyum. But observe that he never threatened the man himself.
So when the doctor faces the artist, he notices that the artist is looking well and is showing no sign of insomnia. He has a vivid eye and a rosy complexion. That’s why he questions the painter. But instead of explaining the reason for this question, he chooses to remain silent. 
He dismisses this contradiction, insinuating that he doesn’t even trust his own judgement and eyes. That’s how deceitful the butler is and naïve the doctor is.
Therefore I predict that Min and Kim have already planned to drug the two protagonists, so that the lord wouldn’t visit the painter during the night. This would facilitate the painter’s abduction. There would be no fight and no resistance contrary to chapter 53. The butler can give later the excuse that it was prescribed by his physician. 
(chapter 55) However, since Baek Na-Kyum is totally unpredictable, their plan won’t go like expected. The painter won’t be sleeping during that night, because he didn’t eat his dinner.
When I stated that the next kidnapping would occur in the next chapter, I had two reasons for this declaration: the presence of Min spying on the two protagonists 
(chapter 74) and the following panel. 
(chapter 71) I believe, Byeonduck already gave us a clue with this picture. Here, we have a waning crescent, while in chapter 70/71 the painter looked at a waxing crescent: 
(chapter 70). Therefore this implied that these were two different nights. That’s why I believe that the first panel announces the second abduction. The change of the moon gives us a clue how many days have between their Wedding and the second kidnapping: 14 days, enough for the painter’s wrist to recover. Moreover, remember my analysis of this image: all the elements (water, fire, air and earth) were in harmony, which would fit with my following interpretation: Baek Na-Kyum has the intention to confess to Yoon Seungho with a painting, a new version of chapter 40. On the other hand, this image resembles a lot to the one from chapter 32/33: 
So in my opinion, the butler is looking at his master’s chamber. He needs to confirm if the lord is indeed asleep, before the second kidnapping can take place.
But now, we have the following problem: who will take away Baek Na-Kyum? My initial thought (Animals of misfortune) was Min. However, I have to admit that The Joker is the mirror of Kim. Both are cowards who will always use others so that they don’t have to dirty their own hands. Note that with the drug, the doctor becomes responsible for his misdeeds, even if he can say that he had no idea about the valet’s intention. Deep down, he knew that he was committing a wrongdoing. Yet, the butler has already lost his position, for he is now working in the backyard indicating that he has no control over the staff. He can’t even use the male servants in my opinion. Imagine, during these 14 days, they led a really peaceful life, hence I doubt that the domestics are now truly resenting the low-born. Yet, as you can envision, I am suspecting that Kim will try as much as possible to let someone else take the fall, since old habits are hard to die. First, he will try to incriminate the maids with the drug, like I had explained in the essay “The purge”. Secondly, he needs someone else to take away the artist. And there’s only one person left who would do it without thinking: Heena. 
She would justify her action that she is saving her brother. Let’s not forget that in chapter 69, she never recognized her wrongdoing in front of Yoon Seungho. 
Therefore she can definitely repeat such a misdeed, as she legitimates her action out of love. Note that she doesn’t fear Joseon justice system, only divine retribution
Consequently, I am expecting a new version of chapter 65, but this time the kisaeng will trespass the property during the night soundless. It’s possible that Kim visits Baek Na-Kyum’s chamber and realizes that the plan with the drug failed so that he can’t carry him to gate. The manhwaphiles should reminisce that the butler once carried the painter from the study to the lord’s chamber in chapter 33/34.
Thus there should be a new version of this trick. Therefore, once the butler recognizes that drugging the commoner was a failure, he can only ask Heena noona to pay a visitation to her brother in order to deceive him. For the butler, this is actually perfect, as he can manage to maintain his image as loyal and caring servant. When she meets her brother, she questions him if he wants to leave the propriety, but he will again reject the offer. Therefore she will use her guards to take away her brother. On the other hand, in order to achieve her goal, she will deceive her brother asking him to accompany her to the door. She will justify her appearance that the lord threatened her, hence she can only see him during the night. Full of trust, Baek Na-Kyum will follow her and once at the gate, a hand will grab his chin and drag him away.
And now, you are wondering how Heena noona will decide to kidnap her own brother. In my opinion, there is a repetition of chapter 43, but this time, the conspiracy takes place at the kisaeng house. 
, Min, impersonating Jihwa, incites Heena by telling her this: The painter has been bewitched by the infamous hell-raiser. He has fallen too much into sodomy, he needs to be rescued. Yet, The Joker is well aware that as a kisaeng, she can’t truly protect her brother from Yoon Seungho due to his wealth and power. Hence he will propose her the following deal: he will offer her the painter’s protection. Since Heena noona judges people based on their reputation and appearances, she won’t mistrust Min. That’s why he will ask her to deliver Baek Na-Kyum to him so that he can get away from the protagonist’s claws. There’s no doubt that she will have heard that there was a scandal between the Yoons and the Lees, hence she will definitely trust Black Heart’s words. Since the enemy of an enemy is a friend, for her “the fake Jihwa” is her “friend”. Besides, the manhwaphiles should recall her final words in the study: 
It is definitely possible that Min describes himself as a great admirer of her brother’s work and even shows her that he owns many publications. That’s why she will be persuaded by The Joker. The latter will never be rude and violent, exactly like the scholar Jung In-Hun. Let’s not forget that in chapter 43, Min justified the murder by portraying the second lead as a savior. He needed to remove the painter, as his friend was in danger in front of a “witch”. However, this time the “witch” will be Yoon Seungho in the kisaeng’s eyes. 
(a new version of this panel). In addition, the warning from the servant reinforced her hatred towards the aristocrat, therefore when Kim opens the door gate that night, she will thank him for his “kindness”. 
The latter seems so gentle and selfless. Now, you are probably thinking that I must resent the kisaeng for developing such a prediction. But no. She is just a flawed character. Besides, the manhwaworms should recall that she was already responsible for the artist’s misery in the past. She might have justified her action that she wanted to protect her brother and did it out of love, yet she never asked for Baek Na-Kyum’s consent. There is this saying: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. This quote embodies perfectly Heena’s mentality and role in Baek Na-Kyum’s life. And her terrible choices led to the artist’s misery. Not only he lost his home, but also he lost his passion and confidence. He was exposed to physical and emotional abuse. The result was that he became a drunk after all. So when she says 
, I believe that her words are actually reflecting her own role: she is the one bringing her adoptive brother misfortune. However, she was never confronted by Baek Na-Kyum, and the manhwaphiles shouldn’t overlook the fact that for almost one and half year, she never tried to contact her brother!! Sure, she is not doing it, because she needs his help, but due to her stubbornness and blindness, she is not realizing that she has been abusing her position as a noona towards Baek Na-Kyum. Besides, I’ve got another reason why I am expecting such a development. The painter’s destiny is to go through the same experiences than Yoon Seungho’s and the latter experienced abandonment and betrayal by his own brother. This explicates why the protagonist had huge trust issues, which is a normal reaction for people suffering from PTSD. So far, the painter has not experienced the sister’s betrayal, only the abandonment… but he chose to overlook it, as she showed great concern and care after their reunion. That’s why this second abduction can never be a perfect crime. The artist will realize that he can no longer trust Heena and the divine retribution she has always feared will be to lose her brother’s trust and support. Moreover, in chapter 40, 
we had the scholar’s betrayal, hence we have to expect a betrayal from a person close to Baek Na-Kyum.
So my idea is that during the night, Kim ensures that both protagonists are asleep and goes to the gate. He lets the kisaeng trespassing the propriety and the latter goes directly to the study. There, she surprises Baek Na-Kyum painting. After convincing her brother to follow her to the door for a last farewell (a new version of chapter 29 
, she lets her guards abduct her brother, and goes to the location recommended by Min. In my opinion, he will ask her to bring the artist to the mansion of the noble with the mole. Why? There’s no ambiguity that he will try to erase every evidence leading to him. He has definitely planned that Jihwa and the kisaeng will become his scapegoats. Secondly, the noble with the mole is Jihwa’s friend. Besides, when the first conspiracy took place, it was at a pavilion: 
, It’s not just a secluded place, but also the place where the artist was raped. For the low-born has created a new work, the new image will be brought to Min. Remember how the painting was the trigger for Yoon Seungho to kiss the protagonist at the pavilion which led to a rejection and confession… the result was that the main lead forced himself on the painter.
Once the painter has been dragged away, Kim has to ensure that there is no evidence left of an abduction, a repetition of the past. He removed the painter’s footprints. However, during that night the artist was painting, hence there’s evidence that the painter’s not trying to flee. In order to remain as close as possible to the truth (which is Kim’s MO), the butler decides to write a fake letter. I came to this idea because of the following panel: 
Note that the brushes are still full of ink, although he had finished with the picture. Even if the valet cleaned the brushes, they would be still wet the next day. That’s why he writes a letter in Baek Na-Kyum’s name. He explains why he decided to leave: the lord was still a man obsessed with sex and would even tie him up. There’s no doubt that the butler will use expressions that he heard while spying. As you can see, I haven’t changed my mind about this aspect: there will be a fake letter.
Strangely is that the real trigger for this essay was a comment left by Luzy outlining that we had a lot of panels with the sound of a door, therefore I selected a few: 
(chapter 74) 
(chapter 71)
(chapter 69) 
(chapter 59)
(chapter 53) 
(chapter 52)
After noticing this, the manhawphiles should question themselves, why did Byeonduck pay so much attention to the sound of the door? Observe that in certain panels, we don’t even see the characters, like for example in chapter 74, 71, 69 and 53. In other words, they don’t truly contribute to the narration of the story. In chapter 53, she could have drawn Min standing up in front of his friends while on his way to the door. However, if I contextualize the image from chapter 69, the panel plays a huge role. The sound of the door announces the final verdict, it could become the death knell for Yoon Seungho. If the painter decides to follow his sister, then he has to accept this. Strangely is that Yoon Seungho could hear the noise from the door and he was sitting in his bedchamber. That’s why Kim needs to ensure that Yoon Seungho won’t hear the noise during that night. Secondly, in my essay “investigation”, I elaborated the theory that the physician had heard the noise from the restroom, when the main lead had to wash himself. And I believe to have found a confirmation in chapter 74: In my opinion, that’s why Byeonduck chose to draw such a picture. She wanted her readers to connect the noise from the door with the physician. With this new interpretation, I noticed that in chapter 52 and 53, there were so many “Creeak”😱 that I have the impression that this time, the “creeak” will serve as an evidence for the painter’s kidnapping. The readers will recall that during that night, the sound was definitely linked to Min, hence from my perspective Byeonduck decided to create such panels: Thereby the noise will become the domino and evidence for the abduction. Just like a domino game, where the first falls down and everything falls apart, the conspiracy will be discovered piece by piece. Remember that in the first abduction, the physician remained silent, as he didn’t pay attention to that noise, but only realized it afterwards. But who will hear the noise of the door and mention it to the lord? There’s no ambiguity that Yoon Seungho will realize that the letter is fake, but the problem is that he needs to know what truly happened and needs to investigate. Note that in front of Kim, he never revealed that the letter was fake. 
He can’t just beat his staff. From my point of view, the person mentioning the noise of the door will be the head-maid. First, in chapter 11, a maid revealed her observation to her master, when the painting got ruined. 
Then remember how the head-maid walked through the courtyard, when the butler was looking at the lord’s bedchamber. 
Besides, in chapter 63, Kim ignored her question and left her behind, he never justified why he was going outside.
I can imagine that the butler will come up with an excuse, he entered the lord’s chamber in order to know if his master needed something. Then he did the same with the painter. This would explicate why the author created such a panel in chapter 71: Because the lord didn’t hear the noise of the door in his bedchamber, he could investigate the matter leading to the discovery: he was fed with the medicine. That’s why he will definitely threaten his servants and not just beat them like a crazy man. At the end, one of them will finally reveal what he told the kisaeng.
I have the feeling that unlike in chapter 30, the domestics will betray the butler and abandon him revealing how they acted on his order. They trusted him and thought, he was acting on Yoon Seungho’s order. I would like to remind the readers that in that chapter 30, Deok-Jae never revealed the butler’s involvement, although he could have. He definitely remained loyal, yet he got the worst punishment. He definitely hoped that both would share the responsibility of Baek Na-Kyum’s disappearance
(chapter 29), yet Kim let him take the fall. That’s why the vicious servant called him a bastard later. He had finally perceived the valet’s true personality. And that’s how the kisaeng will be connected to the incident.
I have to admit that in my first theory, I still had a problem with the following panel: 
finding the authorities! Who would ask for the authorities’ help? Now, I have a clue how we would have a repetition of this scene. From my point of view, Yoon Seungho as a transformed man will decide to seek help from the authorities, something he never did before. And like I mentioned it before, the schemers will be defeated, because they disregarded human nature and the possibility of change. You might not know but people suffering from PTSD have huge trust issues and view the authorities as incompetent and untrustworthy, as the latter failed to protect them. In our case, it becomes comprehensible why the noble would avoid authorities, as they represented the source of his misery (the father, the king and the officials). However, if we consider that now Yoon Seungho has become the painter’s servant and Na-Kyum is a lord, he has technically no power to use his staff. That’s how the purge will start. The kisaeng will be interrogated and her temerity, which many confused with courage, will let her think that she is protecting her brother’s interest. She will never reveal anything, until the main lead reveals to her Baek Na-Kyum’s secret: he can’t write and read, because the scholar never taught him. I believe that once she recognizes this as truth, she will mention Jihwa leading to his arrest.
However, the one who will save Baek Na-Kyum from The Joker is Nameless. Like I have already elaborated before, the latter stands in opposition to the noble. He surely knows that Yoon Seungho showed leniency towards his childhood friend, the last incident confirmed the red-haired noble’s statement. So he has every interest to protect the artist’s life. And let’s not forget that we had Min and Nameless appearing in the same chapter. 
In episode 54, the criminal killed the servant, because he represented a threat to Jihwa. Since Baek Na-Kyum’s fate is now strongly intertwined with Jihwa’s, the second Joker will repeat the same action than in episode 54: defend Jihwa and as such lord Na-Kyum’s interest. Moreover, in the past the criminal refused to enter the mansion and do the deed for the following reason: 
. Therefore imagine that the painter is now at a pavilion, a secluded and restricted area, exactly like Nameless prefers it. However, I doubt that Nameless will kill the Joker with a knife, because this would leave traces of a crime. Remember that I always said that Black Heart would die suffocating. With Nameless’ help, the painter would be saved. Therefore the conspiracy could be finally revealed: the physician’s negligence and Jihwa’s silence who knew long ago that Min was lusting for the artist. I am still expecting that the lord’s words from chapter 11 will come true: 
No one will ever suspect that Min died due to Yoon Seungho in the end. As for Kim, his fate is almost sealed
. The moment he drugs the protagonists, he can no longer let others take the blame, although there’s no doubt that he will try to incriminate the maid. The lord will finally be free from the last remain of darkness. However, as you can imagine, the moment father Yoon hears about his loyal butler’s death, the latter will decide to become proactive and retaliate against his rebellious son. As for the painter, there’s no doubt that first he will confront The Joker and defend his lover. It is definitely possible that he calls for his help, but this time, it will be: 
And this love confession will be heard by Nameless who was also present, when the painter was calling for his help the first time. He will detect that their relationship is truly genuine. Imagine, how beautiful it would be for Nameless to finally get an identity, because he saved Baek Na-Kyum. This would truly show Yoon Seungho’s generosity and prove the commoner that there still exist pure and nice people among commoners and nobles.
As a conclusion, Min and Kim will fail with their “perfect crime”, because they couldn’t imagine that people can change. A so-called ruthless and greedy assassin convinced Jihwa to remain pure, then he acted as the painter’s personal guard. At the same time, they didn’t notice Yoon Seungho’s gradual transformation. Their real mistake was to overlook the power of love.
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Yoon Seungho’s suffering path (fourth version)
Protected: Painter Of The Night: “The topknot incident” (fifth version)
Painter Of The Night: Cowardice versus courage: innate or learnable?
Announcement: I updated the essay “Past, present and future – part 3”
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
For this topic, I used the following websites:
- (French) https://nospensees.fr/lart-detre-lache/
- (English) https://exploringyourmind.com/the-art-of-beign-a-coward/
- (French) http://fr.housepsych.com/malodushie_default.htm
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihstWeKgp8Q
- https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html#gsc.tab=0
It took me a long time before I came to the conclusion that Kim was a villain, because he was betraying the protagonists. Striking is that I am receiving comments from readers saying that they have a different opinion. For them, he is no villain. Interesting is that they justify his actions and lies, because he fears for his life due Yoon Seungho’s mood swings. And this leads to the following observation. These readers are not denying Kim’s fear and as such cowardice. Why? It is because in chapter 64 and 65, his gutlessness is especially visible. 
(episode 64) When the butler sees the painter being treated like a sex toy, the valet doesn’t interfere at all. The manhwaphiles can even observe how Kim is so paralyzed before speaking.
Then he acts, as if nothing was happening in front of him. He bows in front of his lord, not out of respect but out of fear.
Then he gives an excuse for his interruption before taking to his heels, leaving the artist behind to his misery. Striking is that this attitude didn’t occur just once, but twice… as it is revealed in the next episode that Kim witnessed a similar scene. He heard how Yoon Seungho got assaulted, but he did nothing. He literally abandoned him too. And he knows what he did was wrong, since he shows signs of culpability. He is repressing his guilty conscience. He had even forgotten it, until he was confronted with a similar situation. However, his reaction was the same. This indicates that cowardice has become a major part of Kim’s personality. No, there’s no mistake. Fear is a synonym for cowardice, for it means that a person has not been able to overcome his fear. But what is a coward actually? How does someone become one? This pushed me to make some research.
When I watched the documentary “dans la tête d’un lâche” (in the head of a coward), I recognized the parallels between Kim’s behavior and the testimony of a person who refused to help a girl from getting raped. Her words were: “This is normal”, “nothing is happening”, “I fear for my life”. These kind of thoughts represent the psychological mechanism called “cognitive dissonance”. It’s a coping mechanism that helps people to feel less guilty. Put in a terrible situation and confronted with a dilemma, people try to explain why they behave like that. Since they are acting against their principles and beliefs, they feel uncomfortable and in order to reduce their embarrassment and discomfort, they adapt their values to their behavior. Hence if someone witnesses a person in danger, the witness tends to minimize the danger in order to justify this disregard for not providing assistance to a person in danger, like for example “sex won’t kill the painter” or “the artist is not calling for my help” or “I am just interrupting a rough sex session” or “Yoon Seungho could definitely kill me”. However, concerning the last point, if you pay attention, you’ll remember that the noble clearly said, he had no intention of interrupting his sex session
and he didn’t mind the valet watching them. In other words, Yoon Seungho was not threatening Kim’s life. Now, someone might argue that these points above were just developed by me and we never saw any “cognitive dissonance” from the butler, which I can immediately refute. Byeonduck made the readers see what “cognitive dissonance” is:
: Why should I feel guilty, if it doesn’t concern me? It is not my problem, why should I have helped the painter?
: Why should I feel guilty, because the sex session proved clearly that the lord wouldn’t hurt the painter? If I had intervened, this could have had terrible consequences.
This means that the head is rationalizing a terrible behavior which stands in opposition to the witness’ initial values and beliefs. Therefore in order to become brave, a person needs to feel a lot of empathy. Only with a big heart, the initial fear can be overcome. This explicates why faintheartedness is a synonym for cowardice. The longer a person struggles in front of a dilemma, the higher the chances are that a person won’t help, as the latter will start convincing himself that his help is not needed.
To sum up, in chapter 64, Kim acted, as if the sexual encounter was normal and nothing was happening. This is the typical behavior of a coward, a person who refuses to help someone, because he feels frightened, exposing that the valet’s empathy is not truly developed. In my eyes, this indicates that his care and concern are more a show and an act than reality. He is indeed fainthearted. That’s why I consider him as a villain. He is a hypocrite like all the other villains: Min, the scholar Jung In-Hun and father Yoon. A person with a big heart would definitely help, exactly like Baek Na-Kyum proved it. 
And imagine, the painter protected a criminal, as Deok-Jae had assaulted him before, whereas Baek Na-Kyum was always respectful towards Kim. He always calls him “sir”, and even takes his words to heart. 
But there’s more to it. A psychologist described the different reactions that are going through a person’s mind observing a crime: surprise, confusion and different kind of fears (embarrassment, shame, pure fear and incapacity to help). You might be surprised that shame appears in such a situation. Yet, a witness of a wrongdoing is often questioning his own senses. Is what I hear or see really a misdeed or it is just a small quarrel between lovers (in our case, a rough sex session)? Do I misinterpret the situation? What if I intervene and I was wrong… I’ll embarrass myself and even cause some trouble for nothing. And this explicates why Kim fears so much scandal and ruckus . As you can observe, cowardice is indeed connected social norms and embarrassment. Moreover, remember what I wrote about the trigger for cowardice. A person is put in front of dilemma: there are two values contradicting each other, and the person has to overcome this contradiction, like for example
- A person in need should be always assisted
- You have to make sure not to put your life in danger, hence you have to avoid dangerous situations.
In order to comprehend the notion cowardice, scientists developed different tests and one of them was to ask children. These would listen to a story and they had to make a big decision afterwards. In this story, a man loves his wife very much, but the only medicine that can save his spouse is so expensive that he can’t buy it. He has two choices: either he steals the drug and saves his wife or he lets his wife die but remains honorable. The children below 7 years old will always reply that the poor man has to let his spouse die, because if he steals the medicine, he ends up in jail. Why? It is because these children under 7 years have already internalized that stealing is bad, and you’ll get a jail sentence. However, the older children will make the opposite decision, as they are already aware that life is more important than jail. They are not afraid of getting imprisoned, they are willing to become responsible for their crime. As you can see, courage and cowardice are strongly intertwined with social norms and peoples’ values and opinions. Hence this means that in order to develop courage, a person needs to have developed his own taste, opinion and values. Therefore a brave person has not only a strong heart, but also a strong will and desires, which Baek Na-Kyum truly embodies.
But for that to happen, a child needs to get through an important phase: he needs to learn to control himself and as such his desires. That’s why I couldn’t help myself laughing, when I read the chapters 71 and 72: 
As you can observe, the child Yoon Seungho is learning to control his urges. Secondly, a child has to learn to make an effort and be patient. 
This might sound anodyne, but the psychiatrist truly outlined the importance of this development stage. This explicates why Yoon Seungho would behave like a spoiled child in chapter 30: 
and observe how it is strongly connected to his fear and abandonment issues. However, the moment he made a real decision and showed strong will by allowing the painter to choose his own fate, he becomes brave. It means that he is overcoming his huge fear. His strong will and big heart are the reasons why Yoon Seungho could transform into a phoenix.
And remember what I wrote about Kim in the essay “Past, present and future – part 3”. He was like a father or mother figure who would refuse to let his child grow up. He desired his master to remain in an infantile stage. And this is not surprising that Yoon Seungho was so selfish and even coward 
(chapter 33) in the past. He ran away, too afraid of facing the consequences of his misdeed or of getting too much into trouble with his peers. His role model was himself like that. As you can see, the rebirth of the phoenix means that Yoon Seungho is now learning to become brave and he will become a real and strong fighter, like it was perceptible during the first season. His conversation with the scholar in chapter 6 gave us a glimpse of the lord’s real values. 
Here, he was mocking the teacher. The former doesn’t care for social norms and treats commoners as humans in truth. He doesn’t think that peasants should remain peasants and peoples’ fate is already determined.
But let’s return our attention to the emotions a witness feels, once put in a uncomfortable situation. What caught my attention is that the specialist exposed that fear was associated to 3 reactions:
- desertion, running away
- attack, assault: let’s not forget that a cornered animal will bite and attack, if it feels threatened
- freezing which means that the body is immobile, yet the heart is beating very fast and the blood is circulating more quickly.
And now, if you observe the butler’s reactions in chapter 64-65, you’ll note that we have all these three reactions:
- : here he is threatening the doctor, if he speaks, then he will pay with his life.
- (chapter 64)
Because people associate cowardice to desertion or freezing, they always overlook one aspect: fear, a synonym for cowardice, is not excluding attack. This explicates why Ernesto Mallo wrote this:
“It becomes clear that there are only two kinds of cowards: those who flee backwards and those who flee forward.”
And this truly shows that if a coward feels threatened, he can definitely retaliate, but naturally he will never attack a person directly. He has to use another strategy due to his fear. He will use others in order to protect his own interests. And Kim is definitely using others in order to get rid of the painter. In chapter 67, he clearly implied that Heena noona should take away her brother, while the master was away.
He knew from her behavior, she wouldn’t leave Baek Na-Kyum in that mansion due to the way she attempted to reach the lord’s bedchamber.
And now it is time to focus on the part why Kim became such a coward in the end. From my point of view, Kim’s attitude didn’t start with the first incident in the shed, when the lord was a teenager. It started much earlier, when the valet was himself a child. Why? It is related to education and the environment a child grew up. Let’s not forget that Kim only became Yoon Seungho’s butler, when the latter was a teenager
, meaning that he wasn’t a part of the Yoon household right from the start. He was raised elsewhere. The author from the following website (fr.housepsych.com) pointed out that three important factors explain why a servant like Kim could become a coward:
- An authoritarian upbringing
- The child’s will is broken. And in our manhwa, this can only be reinforced, if the boy is a commoner, as he is considered as nobody. He has no right.
- “Faintheartedness” develops where impunity and powerlessness, violence and crime prevails. Therefore the child internalizes that he is weak in front of the outside world.
And now, you understand why I underlined out how important education and upraising were so relevant. After experiencing impotence, the child learns that he just needs to adjust himself in order to survive. This means that he obeys and follows his parents’ or master’s order very well, yet this is just a subterfuge. The weaker one quickly understands that an open conflict is dangerous and starts to act in a hidden and average way, while showing humility on the outside. And this description fits our butler perfectly. Since he is a commoner and as such weak, he became caring and humble on the outside, while in reality he is just defending his own interests, as his survival instinct has become a normality. And now, if I include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, you’ll realize that Kim is not motivated by love or esteem or self-actualization.
Safety and physiological needs are what matter to him. That’s why he desires to lead a peaceful life far away from trouble and ruckus. At the same time, this explains why Yoon Seungho never felt loved by his butler, as the latter was not focused on giving and receiving love. 
The irony is that the moment the domestic finally accepts the painter as his master’s lover (“let’s keep it this way”) implying that he will stop with his tricks, Heena noona barges in the mansion and creates a scandal, which he can only considers as a threat. Therefore the valet changes his mind. But more importantly, this scene is important for another reason. 
Kim is in the backyard working and this shows his true mindset. For me, he likes being alone, and it looks like he is hiding from others. It was, as if he feared the outside world, reminding us of the following remark: “he is weak in front of the outside world.” Moreover, the manhwalovers should recall my initial analysis about the valet. I compared him to a dog watching over the house. This interpretation fits totally. The courtyard is his world and he feels safe there. Therefore Byeonduck showed us many panels with Kim in the courtyard. (chapter 33) This explicates in my opinion, why Yoon Seungho is not willing to go to the capital. He doesn’t just fear old white-bearded men, his lack of motivation is strongly connected with Kim’s needs. The latter fears trouble, which stands in opposition to politics. If his master were to become an official, he would have to deal with other nobles and enter in conflict, which stands in opposition to Kim’s philosophy. That’s why the butler had an interest that his master remains as a man consumed by lust. He wouldn’t develop any desire and ambition. As you can see through the Maslow’s motivational hierarchy needs, fear and cowardice are somehow innate due to the survival instinct, yet by living in society, peoples’ life change, as through love and status, people feel the need to growth.
Now, I would like you to read this following quote, because it actually describes Kim’s personality so well:
“A fainthearted person lives hard, being in tension and leading a separate fictional life, he still does not get the events necessary for his personality. Those who often have to come into contact with such people are also very worried, because if you are in a dominant position, such a person will bend with fear (he will support you and love you surprisingly in the same combinations as you), but there is always a threat: you will be betrayed. It is impossible to know what such a person really wants, because he lives with an eye on those around him, but such attention does not reflect any desire to improve him. No, such a person will betray you and deny you, tell secrets or pretend that he or she is not familiar with you, as soon as the situation changes. Friendship and trust are out of the question, because these concepts require loyalty to the chosen person, nobility to him, immutability of their principles and courage.” quoted from http://fr.housepsych.com/malodushie_default.htm
What caught my attention first is the constant fear a coward is feeling. It is deeply rooted in him, and this explains why the valet would say this to the painter . The latter justifies his fear with the noble, while now I believe that it is more related to his state of mind. Since he has been living for so long in fear, he associates it to Yoon Seungho. That’s the reason why the valet always looks so frightened and tired. He is always in tension. Hence he always has dark circles. Another important detail in this quote is the importance of the coward’s attitude. He observes his surrounding to get knowledge. He feels the need to perceive their true personality and desires, and will mirror their reaction. This is particularly perceptible, when the butler calls Baek Na-Kyum as “no-good painter” 
and the head-maid describes him as a charlatan. 
This projection is implied with the following quote: ” he will support you and love you surprisingly in the same combinations as you “. However, this will never reflect his true emotions and thoughts, as a coward’s attitude is to avoid emotions. “Not feeling means not suffering”. That’s why Kim gives his master the following advice: Don’t take it to heart. 
Under this new approach, you understand why Yoon Seungho had a relapse. He was encouraged not to feel anything and as such not to face his fear… He never confronted the painter.
Moreover, by paying attention to people’s attitude, he can manipulate people in order to achieve his goal. He will never act in the open, but in the shadow, for he needs to keep his image of an obedient and loyal servant, while in reality he is only loyal to himself. By monitoring his surroundings, he is able to discover secrets (like f. example the future abduction or the ruining of a painting) and will use this for his own benefit. He will even deny a person: Note that here, Yoon Seungho has to defend himself and his honor, although the butler is well aware of the truth: his master was a victim.
Strangely is that the author from that website recommends to a person suffering from cowardice to start with voicing his own desires. Why? Such a person has already internalized that his dreams and ideas could never become true. In reality, the coward has no longer any wish. His mindset is only focused on self-preservation. Since they are asked to express their own wishes, they are forced to change their mindset. And this is not surprising that before the lord’s final transformation, Yoon Seungho started externalizing his own hopes:
- chapter 58:
- chapter 63:
These were glimpses of a growing courage. He developed a dream and became motivated to obtain it. The manhwaphiles can recognize that thanks to his love for Baek Na-Kyum, Yoon Seungho was slowly moving up in the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. The latter is already announcing the lord’s raising. There’s no doubt that he will reach the highest level: Self-actualization needs – realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. A desire “to become everything one is capable of becoming”(Maslow, 1987, p. 64). quoted from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html#gsc.tab=0 The self-actualization corresponds to the moment when the Phoenix will truly shine.
Now, I would like to return to the testimony of the woman who witnessed a rape and did nothing. She was plagued with a guilty conscience, which led her to reflect on her own behavior. Therefore she forced herself to face reality and assume her responsibility for her own wrongdoings. She decided to make a short movie in order to encourage people to intervene. And this leads me to the following observation. The butler is a coward for another reason. He has never reflected on his own behavior. That’s why he says this: Repressing and forgetting is an important factor why Kim never reflected about his own behavior. His fear was too deeply internalized, at the same time he was always focused on the others, making sure to perceive people’s personality correctly. That way, he would be able to manage to survive. For him, manipulation has become an important of his survival instincts. This explicates why the servants listen to him, he always knows what he needs to say in order to convince them. (chapter 69) There’s no doubt that Yoon Seungho never gave such an order. He was already too happy that the painter had chosen to stay by his side. Besides, note what the domestic says: “He will have you killed”. In other words, he will give the order to eliminate the kisaeng. Yet we know for sure that Yoon Seungho killed the servant with his own hand. Therefore it displays that Kim was the one speaking behind this. This exposes that the butler considers the mansion as his propriety. Hence I come to the conclusion that Kim didn’t choose to follow his master out of loyalty for him, but because he had become comfortable in that mansion. But he had definitely other reasons, like for example following the eldest master’s order (on the surface).
Furthermore, he lets others commit the wrongdoings so that he can not really become accountable for this. This is perceptible in chapter 17, when he asks the maids not to approach the study, he knew that Jihwa was there. 
Let’s not forget that he lets Deok-Jae take the fall for the painter’s escape when he was clearly the one who talked to Jung In-Hun 
. By using the personal pronoun “we”, the jealous servant wanted the butler to become responsible as well, but Kim remained silent and even kept his distance from Yoon Seungho. That’s why I come to the deduction that Kim was really content with his life, until the painter showed up. First, he was the real master of the courtyard, but he never had to take any responsibility, as Yoon Seungho as a master would take the whole blame: he was a sodomite, a violent and bad master etc… On the other hand, Kim could dress outside as a noble
, as he represented the lord. But if there was any trouble, then his master was the one responsible officially. Besides, if Yoon Seungho was changing, the butler would make sure that Jihwa would control his master. As you can see, he never had to assume any responsibility. And this leads me to the following observation, the lord started becoming brave thanks to his affection for the painter much earlier. He truly desired to become responsible for him. 
The manhwalovers shouldn’t forget that in that scene, Kim was not present. If he had seen this gesture, he would have realized the danger. That’s why he imagined that the moment Jung In-Hun had abandoned the artist, the latter would run away, as he had no reason to stay at the mansion in his mind. That’s why the door was left opened. 
He had no idea that “responsibility” was the trigger for Baek Na-Kyum to stay there. This word implied that the low-born was not perceived as a burden. In other words, cowardice is strongly related to responsibility. That’s the reason why the valet needs scapegoats (the amateur spy, Jihwa, Deok-Jae…) and lets others take the blame. He sees responsibility as a burden. Moreover, there is another reason why cowardice is linked to accountability. Scientists discovered bystander effect (in French it is called as “effet spectateur”). What is it exactly? One might think that the more people are witnessing a person in danger, the more highly the victim will be saved on time. But no… the truth is the more people are present, the less they will intervene. This is related to diffusion of liability. All the witnesses think that someone else will come and intervene. Therefore they all remain passive. This explicates why a woman could be raped in front of many people. No one felt responsible, as they waited for the intervention from the other beholders. And now, you might wonder why I am bringing this up. It is to show that courage won’t appear, if you are surrounded by people. Real courage occurs, when you have the impression that you are on your own. Let’s not forget that Kim has the support from his staff. He is even able to motivate and manipulate people with his words, hence he has definitely the power to use the staff in order to protect himself. And he actually did it. Deok-Jae was the one who suffered the most, while the butler had a bruised eye. That’s why I can’t accept Kim’s fear for his life as a justification for his cowardice. Besides, chapter 56 clearly reveals the butler’s role: he is an advisor, hence his words will be taken seriously.
As a conclusion, it shows that cowardice is not truly innate. Moreover, courage is learnable, yet it can only be nurtured in a good environment. That’s why it is important to protect children very early on, as safety helps them to develop other needs. Hence, the earlier they are exposed to danger, the higher the risk is that they become cowards and hypocrites. But more importantly, it truly shows Yoon Seungho’s strength and greatness. Although he was abused physically and sexually, exposed to the worst situations, he was not able to forget the importance of love. 
His desire to feel loved was the reason why he could overcome his traumas. He never gave up on love, which explicates why Yoon Seungho will be able to shine as a phoenix later. On the other hand, the valet only saw love as superfluous, as it could cause trouble. Note that the butler prefers being alone which coincides with his mentality. Only his life matters and no one else.
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
Painter Of The Night: Words
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
On the surface, it looks like in chapter 73 nothing important happened, because the two protagonists have just sex. However, this is just deceiving, for the significance lies in the details, and more precisely in the words. First, what caught my attention are the expressions used by Yoon Seungho. These reveal a lot about his actual state of mind. Pay attention to the following images, and try to find out the common lexical field: 
(chapter 73) Here, the relevant word is “enter”, an equivalent for invade.
(chapter 73) Mess is a synonym for chaos and wreck. 
(chapter 73) In the third panel, Yoon Seungho is implying that the painter just has to call him Seungho-Ya, and he will stop immediately. Strictly speaking, he is referring to the saying: your wish is my command. 
(chapter 73) Strangely, the word “bow” has two significations: a ribbon or a weapon. 
(chapter 73) In the fifth image, Yoon Seungho actually means seduction, yet he utilized the idiom “provocation”. Finally, we have Yoon Seungho’s favorite expression “fret”. During this night, he keeps mentioning it in connection to the painter: (chapter 72) 
(chapter 73) I have to confess that in this situation, I can’t help myself associating this idiom to an anxious animal trying to escape. Now, I would like to sum up all the expressions the main lead employed: enter, mess, word as a synonym for command, bow, provoke and fret. As you can observe, they are all connected to war and conquest. However, since the lord dropped his armor for good, I believe that the aristocrat is thinking about something else: hunting, which coincides with his second hobby. 
(chapter 41) Baek Na-Kyum is his prey, and the lord is trying to catch his heart through sex. However, Yoon Seungho’s attitude is not consciously done, he is not aware that he is speaking like a hunter. More astonishing is that the painter’s vocabulary mirrors his lover’s: 
(chapter 73) The word spot is a synonym for target and prey. (chapter 73) The prey has to move on at his own pace in order to escape from the hunter. Nevertheless, 
(chapter 73) the target is wounded (“it hurts”) and tied up. Even Yoon Seungho’s words are referring to a wound, as if the animal was bleeding to death 
(chapter 73) , as it keeps leaking (chapter 73) As you can observe, Yoon Seungho is so pleased by the painter’s reactions. Imagine, with a few licks and one thrust his lover had two climaxes. He has the impression that he is getting closer to his goal, winning Baek Na-Kyum’s heart. Therefore he becomes more passionate and impatient. He can’t wait to claim the artist as his “wife”, that’s the reason why he can’t take a break. Hence his lover has to refrain him, asking him for a moment of respite. 
(chapter 73) But the lord is known as an impatient man, which seems to be confirmed here. However, in reality it took him many months to be gazed and even accepted. Now that Yoon Seungho is seeing how affected the artist is with his words, caresses and kisses, he is so happy that he calls his lover 
(chapter 73) revealing that they have no longer a lord-servant relationship. This exposes how much the main lead wishes to be intimate with the artist. Therefore, he can’t simply wait contradicting himself. 
(chapter 73) His actions prove that he is definitely in a hurry.
This association to the hunt exposes two important aspects: the noble has not entirely changed… these idioms are the remains from his previous doctrines, but they are much softer. The lord is now attempting to woo the artist, so that the painter can finally admit that he loves being with him and that only Yoon Seungho is able to make him happy, even if it is through pleasure. This chapter is an allusion to chapter 45, 
where I had already pointed out that the noble was deluding himself by calling the artist an easy conquest. Back then, this comment made me so laugh, because chapter 42 clearly outlined that it wasn’t even easy due to the lord’s grimace during the intercourse. 
(chapter 42) And observe that this chapter confirms my interpretation. First, the noble has a similar facial expression 
exposing that he has to work hard in order to please his lover. He is still clinching his jaw, however the manhwaphiles can detect two huge differences: the mouth is more open and he is now blushing. This shows how much this hunt is touching his heart. And the comparison makes me realize that Yoon Seungho’s final sexual emancipation could be symbolized, when he moans his lover’s name while having an orgasm. That’s why we have the lord calling the painter so affectionately (Na-Kyum-Ah) before the second round. (chapter 73)
Since this love sessions reminds us of a hunt, it is not surprising that winning the painter’s heart is not easy, because he might scare the target. First, when the lord continued thrusting, his lover begged him to stop. The former had to yell and use his hand to stop him. (chapter 73) In order to reassure his partner, he kissed his hand 
(chapter 73) showing that he was serious with his saying: Your wish is my command. In addition, he wanted to demonstrate that he hadn’t forgotten his promise: not to scare him.
At the same time, Baek Na-Kyum likes rough sex as well, hence he has to beg his partner for his help. He is not satisfied with his own actions. This explicates why there is this alternation between speed accompanied with roughness
and a breather. 
(chapter 73) The noble and Baek Na-Kyum’s desires stand in opposition to the artist’s weakened physical condition. The latter can’t physically keep up, hence he faints at the end.
(chapter 73) The prey has definitely been wounded by this special hunt. However, Yoon Seungho did achieve something really important. The blushing painter cried out of excitement during his final climax. 
(chapter 73) Yet, I doubt that this will be noticed by the aristocrat. He is definitely too shocked by the incident. His lover fainted. In my eyes, there is no ambiguity that Yoon Seungho will panic again. He has three reasons for that:
- He never forgot the consequences of the first sex marathon.
(chapter 32) He felt so remorseful and was so worried that he ran away, too scared to face the painter and assume his responsibilities. However, he made sure that a physician was fetched. This terrible experience explicates why the lord panicked in chapter 50. He envisioned for one moment that he had overdone it again. 
- Secondly, he witnessed within one day how the painter fainted twice. The latter had a flashback so that he became unconscious. The lord thought that he could die.
The noble had such huge pangs of conscience that he couldn’t forget the painter’s poor condition. Hence he desired to verify if he had recovered in the bathroom. - Finally, during this night, he noticed how the painter breathed heavily.
(chapter 72) He was worried, but the painter reassured him. In truth, the heavy breathing was caused by a climax, which the artist tried to hide from his lover. Therefore, there’s no doubt that after this chapter, the noble will question his behavior again. As a hunter, he overestimated the strength of his “prey”. Moreover he will realize that Baek Na-Kyum’s words contributed to this incident. Let’s not forget that Yoon Seungho was following the artist’s request. 
(chapter 73) This time, the painter’s exhaustion occurred due to both protagonists. That’s why Yoon Seungho will realize that he has to become more responsible and can’t just give the whole responsibility to Baek Na-Kyum. He should have paid more attention to the artist’s health and physical condition. And Kim took advantage of the situation. Thus from that night on, the lord kept his distance from his lover. From my point of view, the valet used these expressions against the main lead. He had been targeting the artist, turning him into a prey, hence the painter could not refused. Kim’s MO has always been to mix cause and consequences. Besides, since he heard such words, he could only have a negative impression. The manhwaphiles shouldn’t forget that the valet is a pessimistic person due to “fortunetelling”. [For more read the essay “Fortunetelling”] As you can see, due to this incident the main lead learned another important lesson: consent. Therefore the lord said this later 
(chapter 75) 
(chapter 79) In the second case, he made sure that both were on the same page. He had felt coerced. Through this fainting, the main lead became more careful and responsible for both of them. The problem is that he was still influenced by his past experience: sex is like a battle… which was now transformed into a hunt.
This parallel between this love session and the hunt gives us an explication why the author chose to include gestures and words from the sex session with Jihwa (chapter 14-15). First, the positions are similar, which my follower @I_Love_Seungho truly observed. 
. (chapter 15) Secondly, Yoon Seungho repeats similar expressions: (chapter 73) 
(chapter 14) And this is how I made the connection with this love session, as I was paying attention to the words.
Let’s start with the last two pictures. Note that in episode 14, the seme didn’t smear the sperm on his own body, but he put it into his childhood friend’s mouth. This gesture gave us the feeling that the sperm was something dirty. Notice that the lord’s words sound like a reproach towards his friend. The personal pronoun “You” stands in the first position, while in chapter 73 it looks more like a compliment (What a mess you’ve made), as “what a mess” is associated to an exclamation. In other words, in chapter 14 the second lead is blamed for the chaos and dirt he created, while Baek Na-Kyum gets praised..
Besides, the manhwaphiles should recall that initially the noble just gave pleasure to his sex partner without getting anything in return. 
(chapter 14) It didn’t happen, because he was selfless… no, this was the consequence of Jihwa’s attitude who did nothing to “seduce” his friend. He refused to kiss him
(chapter 14), but like he explained, his visit was because he was giving in to Yoon Seungho’s ways. But we have to question ourselves: who wanted whom here? The second lead did visit his friend, as he was seeking his company for sex. He could have refused, as his friend never forced him, but he did not. Moreover, the lord made it clear that Jihwa was just coming for sex and nothing more, yet the childhood friend never denied it.
In addition, he punished his partner by not kissing him. Hence his behavior implied that Yoon Seungho had to pleasure him. As you can truly observe, Jihwa never made the effort to conquer his friend, he projected his own thoughts into his sex partner in reality. This sex session reflects the epitome of war… who will admit his defeat first? That’s why there’s no love and warmth. Besides, both protagonists were quite passive in this sex session. Jihwa only changed his attitude, when he sensed the presence of an enemy in the room: the painter. The friend never asked for his host’s help either. This explicates why the lord could only look at the painter’s facial expressions during the sex session. The latter was the only one who seems to be affected by his gestures and gaze. Jiwa hid how he was affected
, he never allowed him to see his weak side. In addition, Jihwa’s words were full of criticisms.
This is not surprising that Yoon Seungho was behaving in a similar way. He was reflecting the second lead’s behavior. In my eyes, Jihwa treated his friend like a real sex toy who was there to pleasure him, hence the fellatio is done to prepare the penetration. That’s why there’s no real exchange, the lord is very passive as well during the blowjob. He feels nothing at all 
. When the sex session started, he seemed to be in a hurry too, similar to chapter 73, but for a different reason. He desired his job to be over. Therefore I come to the conclusion that Jihwa was having sex on his own. Note that once the penetration happened, the second lead had the impression, he had won the battle and war. 
(chapter 15) However, Jihwa never truly invested his energy and effort to woo his childhood friend’s heart. This is no longer surprising why the second lead felt so lonely, even during their intimate time. Yet the irony was that the head-kisaeng was treated like a tool for Jihwa’s pleasure, and the latter never realized that.
On the other hand, Baek Na-Kyum keeps complimenting his partner 
, he even recognizes that praising him too much could encourage Yoon Seungho to become more passionate, hence he diminishes his praise afterwards. 
(chapter 72) Baek Na-Kyum’s words and reactions are the reason why the lord is so affected. But unlike in chapter 14, the painter asks for his lover’s help showing that making love implies the involvement of two persons and not just one. Like I had written in a previous analysis, the lord is discovering that giving pleasure to his lover is also receiving. Hence he blushes and becomes more passionate. (chapter 73) His blood is boiling not due to anger, but due to his intense feelings. Both lovers are proactive here (chapter 73) which contrasts so much to the sex session in chapter 14. (chapter 15) That’s why words are really important, they reflect people’s mentality. The lord went after his lover’s heart, therefore he “worked” hard to please his partner discovering that he felt so much pleasure as well. However, now he needs to become more patient and responsible by resisting to temptation: (chapter 73) But more importantly, he has to learn to woo the artist differently, not only through sex… Winning the lover’s heart and hand is called courting, and not hunting. On the other hand, for Kim, the conversation let appear Yoon Seungho as a rather “brutal” man imposing his will onto the artist. He was cornering his prey… while the artist could only look like a man consumed by lust for he would accept this “pressure” and “mistreatment” (tie up, bow).
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Adoration
Painter Of The Night: The rebirth of the Phoenix
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
When the lord was dressed with a hanbok with a pattern showing phoenixes
, I realized that we would witness the lord’s spiritual death followed by his rebirth. However, I have to confess that I had no idea when it would occur. The only clue I had was that it was related to the low-born’s abduction and planned assassination. Striking is that Jihwa’s nightmare was actually announcing the lord’s spiritual death: 
(chapter 50). But if you pay attention, you’ll observe that in this terrible vision, there were two dead people: the painter and master Yoon. That’s why both characters had empty gaze. 
This means that in truth the manhwalovers would assist to two “spiritual deaths”, Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho’s. But wait… Only the aristocrat was wearing a hanbok with phoenixes, not the painter. But I am certain that the painterofthenight lovers will recall the robe the lord covered the commoner with in chapter 45: 
Baek Na-Kyum was linked to cranes. Therefore, this signified that the painter’s death would be different. Note that the artist’s head is bleeding just like his body indicating that there’ll be a real transformation. My explanation is that he is supposed to come back to life as a crane. This beautiful bird means good fortune, happiness and longevity. I am quite sure that my readers remember the analysis about the animals embodying the two protagonists. Back then, I had explained that the lamb represented Baek Na-Kyum perfectly: innocence and purity, but this animal is also associated to sacrifice and selflessness, because in Christianity, the lamb represents Christ as both suffering and triumphant. And now, you understand why Byeonduck made the painter suffer so much. Moreover, the artist is also associated to the butterfly 
and the latter is also a symbol for rebirth. My interpretation is that Baek Na-Kyum will transform into a crane, hence there’s blood on his head and body. He will get a new identity. Furthermore, I had elaborated that all nobles were represented by birds: Jihwa imagined himself as crane, while in reality he was a pheasant(chapter 41), Jung In-Hun was a peacock, Min a crow and finally Yoon Seungho a Phoenix (although in that essay I had imagined, Yoon Seungho was an eagle). And this final transformation occurs, when the lord calls him: 
The moment he is perceived as a noble, he becomes a crane.
With this new interpretation, I recognize that the main leads made a similar experience. I have already developed the theory that both protagonists mirror each other, hence they are so fascinated by each other and help each other. Therefore, if the lord is supposed to die spiritually, the artist has to go through a similar process. And it is time to ask ourselves, when their spiritual death happened? In my eyes, this was symbolized by the painter’s vision: 
(chapter 66) This was the new version of Jihwa’s nightmare. It looks like the lord is mourning the deceased. The black hanbok with a white collar resembles a lot to the clothes Koreans are wearing at a funeral: black with white stripes. Besides, if I add this panel, the readers will now understand why the noble felt this way. He was sitting next to the painter’s body fearing for his death, hence he was touching his hand
. He waited, until he saw the artist opening his eyes for a brief instant.
In that moment, the aristocrat recognized that the artist was coming back to life. That’s why he called his name. As you can see, the lord only left his side after making sure that his life was no longer in danger. That’s why the lord has no eye in this scene. That’s the moment the aristocrat dies spiritually. This is not surprising that this dream is framed with black. Moreover, it was, as if there was a black veil covering this vision. However, the protagonists’ death started much earlier, to be more precise, in Yoon Seungho’s bedchamber. Baek Na-Kyum had a flashback and was terrified, hence his gaze was so lost, which damaged so much his lover that the latter had a similar reaction. In my eyes, their empty gazes 
correspond to these empty eyes from Jihwa’s nightmare: (chapter 50). This explicates why the lord visited the culprit right after the artist’s “death”. At the same time, the lord’s presence was the trigger for Baek Na-Kyum to come back to life.
He felt his presence, hence he was confused if what he saw in his vision was a dream or reality. In my eyes, this “dream” is important, as for the first time, his dream is less linked to desires and the future. It is strongly intertwined with the present. On the other hand, these terrible experiences made both main leads realize the importance of their lover in their life. While fearing for his death, 
Baek Na-Kyum remembered Yoon Seungho’s smile which made him scream for his help. The same occurred to the powerful noble, when he imagined that the painter would die. He thought, he would never be able to see the painter’s smile. There’s no doubt that first the aristocrat blamed himself, until Min revealed Jihwa’s crime. However, for Yoon Seungho, it was enough. Not only he hadn’t believed in his lover’s words, but also he had mistreated him. That’s why in the artist’s study, the lord died spiritually. Due to the gestures, the manhwaworms can feel the lord’s regret and heartache. Consequently the protagonist is holding the artist’s hand. He is admitting his failure as a lord, too blinded by his own emotions, the artist kept his word as requested, even if he was tormented. He showed courage and strength, but also loyalty and humbleness. Let’s not forget that the commoner had asked for forgiveness
, although he had done nothing wrong at all. His apology was sincere, and the main character had misjudged it. There’s no ambiguity that while sitting next to Baek Na-Kyum, the noble realized the painter’s true personality. Hence this is not surprising that Yoon Seungho shows such a respect towards Baek Na-Kyum later. In my opinion, when the master arrived in his mansion, he wanted to send away the kisaeng for two reasons. He had seen how weak the painter was and feared that the kisaeng would drag her brother away. We shouldn’t forget how the kisaeng managed her way to reach Yoon Seungho’s bedroom, therefore in his mind, she would act the same way. Moreover, if the painter were to disappear, the noble would never be able to redeem himself. In my eyes, he wanted to make it up to him. However, once he stood in front of the study, he recognized that he couldn’t do like nothing had happened. 
He heard the artist’s confession which was linked to fear and a certain reluctance to face the lord and his own feelings. Moreover, he realized that he had to respect the painter’s wish, he let Baek Na-Kyum take his destiny in hand. In other words, the dream of the painter presented the lord’s future action and decision. This was his leap of faith, and as such it announced the Phoenix’ rebirth. The moment the master decided to give the commoner the freedom to choose his fate, the artist’s hand would follow his worshipper.
This explicates why Yoon Seungho is so intimidated by Heena, when the latter approaches him. 
His words might sound confident, yet if the beholders examine more closely these, they will note the presence of a question, exposing the aristocrat’s certain hesitation. The noble is definitely lacking self-confidence due to his recent “death”. But I have to admit that for me, the real rebirth happens in the bathroom. Why?
First, I can’t help myself connecting the bath to Christianity. The baptism is done with holy water. It is supposed to announce a new life as a Christian. Water symbolizes that all your sins are washed away. Your soul becomes pure again. And note that in the tub, the lord is acting very differently from the past. He doesn’t speak well, hence he makes some mistakes
, exposing a certain shyness. Moreover, his gestures are so gentle and precise
, because his armor melted away. Since water is associated to purification, it means that the bath represents the lord’s rebirth as a phoenix. But because the bird comes back from its own ashes, the animal returns in the form of a baby. That’s why the lord is so innocent and pure from chapter 70 on. First, he plays a prank in the tub.
Then in the bedchamber, he decides to switch roles…
(role play). Now Baek Na-Kyum is the powerful lord, while he is just his subordinate. Finally, when he sticks out his tongue
, he looks and acts definitely like a playful child. This explicates why words can move him so deeply. 
At the same time, as a new born, this is not surprising that Yoon Seungho lacks maturity. Hence the painter has become the ultimate authority. 
Let’s not forget that Baek Na-Kyum transformed into a crane, which I associate to tranquility and wisdom. Just like his lover, he transformed into a crane in the tub. Water cleaned his heart and mind for good. This is not surprising that the artist is more mature than his lover. He had a different rebirth, as he reflected on his emotions and thoughts before the baptism. Thanks to Yoon Seungho’s teaching about critical thinking, the artist was able to free his heart and mind from the learned sir, and the baptism marked the final step.
But let’s return our attention to the phoenix. By submitting himself to “lord Na-Kyum”, the lord is implying that the commoner is now responsible for him. This is a new version of chapter 40: , nonetheless there are two huge differences. This time the lord has taken over the scholar’s position. The painter will be responsible for him, and the former will hope to be loved by the noble. This signifies that the phoenix will be able to shine thanks to Baek Na-Kyum. The latter will be Yoon Seungho’s good fortune, just like the lord has become the painter’s good fortune. A phoenix is a mystical and powerful bird, this explicates why the commoner could turn into a lord and as such into a crane.
Some readers wondered why the noble wouldn’t pay attention to the circumstances of the first abduction, and why he wouldn’t anticipate the enemies’ schemes. This is related to the aristocrat’s innocence. Right now, he is like a child, hence he is not focused on the future. As a child, Yoon Seungho is now living for the moment which I can totally understand. Until now, he had been living trapped in the past. With his rebirth, he was able to move on. Yet, he will realize that he needs to anticipate more and make concrete plans for the future, if he wants to protect his lover. However, I would like to point out that he has already prepared the ground. First, he created such a ruckus at the Lees that now, father Lee can no longer feign ignorance. If Jihwa commits another misdeed, then Yoon Seungho made it clear that father Lee will be held responsible for his son’s crime. The phoenix made it clear that out of respect for father Lee, he wouldn’t do more than create a scandal
, yet this signifies that if there’s another incident, he won’t be respectful again. In my opinion, it already announces the purge.
As you can see, I perceive that Byeonduck used a lot of references to religion. We have the presence of water and the white bougies embodying knowledge and clarity of the mind. Finally we have an altar: 
The lord is kneeling in front of his deity, the crane, making amends due to his “sins”. That’s why I am more than ever convinced that Yoon Seungho will create either a painting or a poem for his “god” at some point exposing his love and admiration. He is already treasuring the artist’s tongue and hand, therefore I am expecting him to recognize the artist’s true intelligence. Remember that in the past, he used to call him a fool
, from my point of view, he will realize his mistake. Baek Na-Kyum only received a single lesson about critical thinking and he applied it right away. Secondly, he never forgot his “lesson”, as he started reflecting about himself from chapter 46 on 
(“why”) and he never stopped it. This was particularly perceptible in chapter 70, when the artist remembered his past and realized that he had overcome his trauma caused by Jung In-Hun. Now, he is even applying this lesson concerning others 
He wants to know his lover’s motivation. Therefore, I come to the deduction that Baek Na-Kyum has matured so much that he will now be able to question the scholar’s words and actions. He won’t be able to be manipulated like in the past.
One of my readers proposed as a theory that the lord would get poisoned and the painter would decide to assume his responsibility as lord Na-Kyum, which would create a conflict between Kim and the artist. Now after examining the rebirth of the phoenix and the crane, I have to admit that her theory sounds more and more possible. Furthermore, this would announce that the painter would be able to defeat Kim and Min’s plan. Let’s not forget that in reality, Min is the painter’s enemy, although the former has developed an obsession for him. Besides, the manhwalovers should recall how Black Heart used the painter to hurt Yoon Seungho, therefore I am expecting that the new version of chapter 53/54 will show us the Joker’s defeat thanks to Baek Na-Kyum.
Under this new approach, the manhwaphiles can comprehend why the noble is listening to lord Na-Kyum’s requests. 
The crane proved him how brave, mature, strong and loyal he is…. while he was so blinded by his own fears and self-hatred. In his eyes, he is truly superior to him. Simultaneously, it is also understandable why the phoenix has problems to control himself in front of his god. The latter is not a blind and deaf idol who wants to be admired and worshipped constantly without giving anything in return. His god listens to his requests and wishes. 
The crane is the real god, while Jung In-Hun is a fake one. 
After examining the rebirth of the phoenix and the crane, my interpretation that Jung In-Hun will become the painter’s rival seems to become more and more certain. However, thanks to the phoenix’s support, lord Na-Kyum will be able to defeat his “learned sir”. Concerning Yoon Seungho, the latter will also have to fight against his own father, and he will definitely defeat and surpass him, since he is a phoenix. This is not surprising that the protagonists fell in love with each other, as their souls are very similar: both are associated to good fortune, which could only make the fathers jealous.
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Lord Na-Kyum and Seungho-Ya (second version)
Painter Of The Night: Investigation 🔍🧐 (second version)
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes. If you want to read more essays, here is the link to the table of contents: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/table-of-contents-painter-of-the-night/
It would be great if you could make some donations/sponsoring: Ko-fi.com/bebebisous33 That way, you can support me with “coffee” so that I have the energy to keep examining manhwas. Besides, I need to cover up the expenses for this blog.
Now, you are all wondering why I am using a panel from chapter 59 as illustration, when the story has already moved on, and our beloved couple is actually celebrating their marriage. Everything started with the following panel: 
(Chapter 71) As you can envision, I am now examining each picture very carefully, hence when I saw this image, I couldn’t help myself associating it to the painter’s abduction. First, the painterofthenight-lovers will certainly remember the scene of the lord’s panic, when he left the room and saw the footprints on the ground misleading him to think that the painter had run away. (Chapter 60) In this picture, the manhwaphiles can even hear Nameless’ explication why the lord would jump to the wrong conclusion. The expression “on his own two feet” was actually visualized by the imprints left on the snow. We know for sure that Nameless knocked out the painter before carrying him away. He carried him the same way than he did with Lee Jihwa: 
(Chapter 59) What caught my attention is that the space between the footsteps on the wood (Chapter 71) is much bigger compared to the ones left in the snow. (Chapter 60) Why such a difference? It is related to the divergence of height between the lord and the painter. So here is the question? How could Nameless walk with small footsteps, when he is carrying another person? As you can see, the panel from chapter 71 serves as a clue for the presence of an accomplice during this night. I had already elaborated that Kim must have participated in this, but I could never prove it. But one might argue that this proof is not strong enough to validate my theory. That’s why I examined the chapter 59 more closely again.
(Chapter 59) This image caught my attention for two reasons. Thanks to the analysis “The five candles”, I realized the true meaning of the pictures with landscapes. They expose the actual situation, therefore the beholder should study them under the following elements: moon or sun, air, water, earth and fire. So in this picture, you can detect the absence of the moon symbolizing the lord’s illness. He is too weak to look after his lover. Striking is that the earth element is predominant here, as the tree branches standing next to the buildings are almost touching the sky. So since the snow is falling, it indicates the presence of water and note that water is almost everywhere: in the sky, on the trees, on the ground and on the rooftops. The only element missing is fire. Yet if the manhwalovers examine the image more closely, they will detect the presence of a light hanging on the side of the restroom. However, the candle surrounded by glass is not lit. To sum up my observations, this panel exposes the predominance of water and earth and the presence of a lamp with glass. In other words, this image symbolizes butler Kim, the new version of chapter 58 
. First, let’s not forget that Kim is often seen carrying a bucket of water (chapter 33) 
(chapter 56). Secondly, he is also linked to the lantern with a glass 
(chapter 20) 
(chapter 36) But more importantly is that in the image from chapter 59, there is no light, (Chapter 59) which can not be a coincidence. In my eyes, the valet is already aware of the future kidnapping, but he is not sharing his knowledge to the protagonists. He wants to keep them in the dark. Moreover, if you add the picture from the chapter 58, you’ll detect the absence of the glass lamp too. (Chapter 58) The presence of light comes from the physician’s room, where both main leads are making love. Hence the fire element is associated to Yoon Seungho and not Kim. All this indicates that the valet will apply his favorite philosophy: feigning ignorance. Both panels are actually exposing the valet’s complicity. Even before I realized Kim’s true personality, I had already explained that he was the one who put the protagonists’ shoes next to each other. Back then, I considered it as a gesture of kindness, whereas now I have a different opinion. As you can imagine, I perceive these two panels as evidences for Kim’s complicity. The butler will be the one creating the painter’s imprints.
But some might say that this is not enough, as they are just interpretations. Therefore I am now bringing up this final evidence: (Chapter 59) Note that the painter is standing in front of the bathroom. He has just cleaned himself and note that the lamp is in the background. How is this a proof? If the painter had run away, he wouldn’t have gone to the restroom… he would have left the room right away, just like the footprints are indicating. (Chapter 60) But since he went to the restroom before, it signifies that imprints should have been left behind. Yet there’s nothing like that. Therefore, this means that someone had to erase the imprints. It can only be Kim!! As for the doctor, I believe that he must have heard the painter visiting the restroom. (Chapter 59) Note, there’s the sound of the door closing. But when the disappearance of the artist was noticed, the physician didn’t realize the significance of this noise, only afterwards hence he hesitated to mention it, as it appeared so anodyne. However, as the readers can envision, if the physician had talked about the painter’s visit to the bathroom, then the lord would have realized that someone had tampered evidence. However, the noble due to the footsteps had sent for his domestics in order to start a research, hence the doctor didn’t think about this right away. But this doesn’t end here. I suddenly realized that the doctor could have heard something else, the sound of No-Name jumping and the painter‘s question: 
(chapter 59) But since the artist was silent right away, as the Joker knocked him out immediately, the physician could have jumped to the conclusion that Baek Na-Kyum met an acquaintance. So when the vanishing of the painter was discovered, the doctor assumed that the artist had followed the person he met during that night. Honestly, I can’t blame the doctor for his “passivity”, if my assumption is correct. Due to the lord’s agitated state of mind, the doctor could only realize it afterwards. With this new discovery, it becomes more comprehensible why the physician hesitated the next morning. He didn’t know what he should do. (Chapter 63) If he revealed what he had heard, then he imagined that he could bring the person who had „helped“ Baek Na-Kyum to escape into trouble. Observe the presence of the drop of sweat on his face. He was definitely uncomfortable. If he testified, then he could reveal the presence of a conspiracy. Nonetheless, I believe that he had jumped to the wrong conclusion: desertion. And with this new discovery, you can understand why the butler was so worried. He had no idea what the doctor had noticed. Imagine, the valet got caught by his own method (spying behind doors), however in the physician’s case, the latter was not doing out of malevolence. He just happened to become a witness, but he had assumed something else. That’s the reason why Kim was so worried, he had seen no one, yet the doctor had observed something. Kim never imagined that such a small detail (noise) could become a threat for him. This explicates why he chose to visit the doctor during the night. (Chapter 64) He needed to ensure that the doctor remains silent. Many manhwaphiles will certainly recall how Kim threatened the doctor… (chapter 65) Back then, I had assumed that out of cowardice, he had not intervened due to Kim’s harsh words. Nonetheless, I came to a different interpretation. After recognizing how Byeonduck is tricking the readers, she gives the impression of a continuity, I believe that during that night, the butler visited two different physicians. According to my theory, there exist 3 different doctors. For more, please read the analysis “The mysterious doctor“. How did this idea come up? Simply by paying attention to the BEARD!! 
(Chapter 57) Note that the beard of this physician is covering the cheek and is straight. 
(Chapter 63) But now compare it to the physician’s beard in episode 65: The cheek is free on the side, and it has the form of a W!! First, he went to the one who treated the painter 
(Chapter 65) and from my point of view, he used pity to discover what the physician knew. Remember how he had used compassion the night before (chapter 57). Besides, if you contrast both statements, you will detect a contradiction. “This could be a matter of life or death“ implies that it was about saving someone, while in the second image, it is about killing someone: the other doctor! In my eyes, the valet must have begged the physician 
(chapter 57) to remain silent. If he revealed that he had discovered the presence of someone, then the other could get into trouble. In my opinion, the butler must have suggested that Baek Na-Kyum had tried to escape, because the lord had been abusing him. Don‘t forget that he had been treating the artist for his wrist. Then he must have seen the lord panicking too. 
(Chapter 60) But now, the manhwaphiles are probably wondering why he went to the other physician then. It was related to the lord’s behavior in the shed. He was acting like a sex-maniac. (Chapter 55) This doctor had reprimanded the butler and had been prescribing a tonic. So he visited the physician and used this opportunity to put the whole blame on the poor doctor. (Chapter 65) Because of him, the painter was now treated like a sex toy. The physician had poisoned the lord. Keep in mind that we always have a reflection within the same season. Baek Na-Kyum got “poisoned“, so it should be the same for the lord! Kim threatened the poor man for one reason. No one should discover that two different physicians had been treating Yoon Seungho!! (Chapter 65) The man never saw anything, Kim just described to him how the main lead had been behaving! Yes, he was acting like Yoon Chang-Hyeon who had gone to the doctor and described the son’s illness. 
(Chapter 57)
Now, it becomes comprehensible why the valet silenced the two doctors. Both were important witnesses who could reveal the butler’s complicity. The latter had been frequenting two different doctors, and he had made the decision on his own accord. He had acted like a noble, while in reality he was just a servant. Besides, if this doctor (chapter 63) had mentioned the presence of a third person, then Yoon Seungho could have asked the painter and the latter could have revealed the abduction. With such an innocent observation, the noble would start questioning the butler and he could realize that the imprints had been erased and new ones had been created. That’s why Kim had a huge interest for Baek Na-Kyum’s death, and hoped that the noble had killed him in the barn, hence he kept approaching the shed.
(chapter 61) 
(chapter 62) (chapter 64) He needed to confirm his death. But since the lord was having sex the whole night, the butler had to make sure to bury the truth. If the artist had fainted, then the valet would have fetched the other doctor, the one who imagined that Baek Na-Kyum had escaped. And now, you comprehend why the man hesitated to question the painter after his return: (chapter 74) He was wondering why the artist would look so fine, as he had attempted to escape before. Another evidence for this theory is the following rule: a reflection within the same season. Since the doctor had been puzzled by Yoon Seungho‘s illness, I am deducing that he had the exact opposite disposition concerning the artist. He imagined what the artist had done. He had jumped to the wrong conclusion due to the injured wrist. Besides, he was “aware“ of the lord‘s mood swings.
So after the abduction, everything looked fine again, because Yoon Seungho was more focused on getting the painter’s acceptance. 
(Chapter 71) Consequently, he was not investigating the real circumstances of the abduction. But he has another reason for neglecting this aspect: he knows the culprit’s identity, unaware that unveiling the mastermind’s identity is far from enough. Real justice is to uncover truth. However, at the end of season 2, the wealthy noble was more like a teenager in love. That’s the reason why he was making a huge mistake.
I could understand the lord’s attitude, although this doesn’t signify that I couldn’t criticize him. He has always hoped for a home and as such acceptance, and the artist did fulfil his wish: he definitely selected him and chose to remain by his side. On the other hand, Yoon Seungho was no longer hoping for the painter’s confession. And this perception was confirmed in season 3: 
(chapter 85) He was already content if the artist would look at him, the moment you recall his first confession: (chapter 55). Hence in chapter 71, he’s blushing and happy, for Baek Na-Kyum is definitely starring at him with such a curiosity and desire.
Moreover, the painter talks to him, has even accepted his advances. That’s why he is no longer paying attention to the circumstances that led him to think that the painter had run away on his own feet. As for Kim, he was running out of time, because at any moment, Baek Na-Kyum could mention his visit to the restroom or meeting the Jester. Consequently, the former had to use any trick to remove the artist. Hence he encouraged the kisaeng Heena to take away her brother. 
(Chapter 67)
However, Byeonduck drew such a panel in chapter 71: Why? In my first version, I had expressed the following expectation: the imprints would play another important role again and this theory was confirmed in season 3. 
(chapter 100) Here, they revealed that the main lead had gone down on his knees, the moment he had seen the traces of fresh blood. Then note that in the shaman’s house, the lord had left a bloody foot print
(chapter 102), yet in the snow it was no longer visible. 
(Chapter 102) Someone had erased the traces by putting mattresses on the soil. However, while the lord was walking through the mountain, he was definitely leaving a bloody trail behind 
(chapter 102), a sign that someone had been helping him. And this can only be KIM!! And the last chapter from season 3 seems to confirm my initial investigation: The butler had erased the traces from the abduction. He knew about the kidnapping and helped Lee Jihwa and the Joker.
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
Painter Of The Night: The purge (theory)
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes.
First of all, if you are not convinced that Kim is a villain, then I guess, you don’t need to read any further. Since I have already explained why I perceive the butler as an antagonist and even predicted that he would be involved in the second kidnapping, you can easily imagine that my theory is developed based on this interpretation.
The reason I chose this title is quite simple. As the former servant from the Yoons explained to Jung In-Hun in chapter 37 that the noble families close to the Yoons became victims of a purge
, this signifies that we have to expect an elimination in season 2 for the same reason: treason. Thus in my opinion, the domestic’s actions will lead to an extermination. But now, some of you might be wondering how. For me, the second kidnapping and the events happening around this crime will lead to the purge.
Moreover, after reading the chapter 71, it becomes more evident that the second kidnapping will happen the next day. Why? First, if you recall all the sex scenes (25-28/ 30-32/ 36/ 40-42/ 48-50/ 58/ 62-64), the couple always had to suffer right after: the painter’s escape organized by Kim and Deok-Jae strongly intertwined to betrayals, the painter’s illness, the incident with the sword in chapter 35, the drugging, the lord’s nightmare and suffering, the lack of privacy and the plan of assassination, the spoiled rice, the artist’s loss of favor, the first kidnapping, the artist’s punishment due to the cover up and the scandal with Heena noona. But more striking is that it was always involved with an “improvement” of their relationship, in the sense that Yoon Seungho chose the painter as his partner. The nature of their relationship would become more and more known and obvious to others. And now that we have an official marriage ceremony, the climax of happiness, there’s no doubt that a terrible event will take place the next morning. More importantly is that all the conspirators are running out of time.
First, the manhwaphiles will recall that Black Heart couldn’t even wait to taste Baek Na-Kyum and rushed to the kisaeng house during the same night. His “urges” became so strong after seeing the artist’s smooth legs and his poor condition, which could only excite his sadistic nature.
In addition, the low-born is now recognized as a “noble” by Yoon Seungho, which means that Baek Na-Kyum has now become the master’s official right-hand. Kim has been dethroned from his seat. He has every interest to remove the commoner, as the latter is definitely his rival and opponent. However, he can not do it right away. For that, he needs to restore his relationship with Yoon Seungho so that the latter can trust him again, like in the past. Besides, he has never dirtied his own hands, he always lets others do the dirty work.
So far, I had pointed out that Lee Jihwa and Heena noona would be framed and a faked letter would become the evidence of the conspiracy. I had anticipated as well that the physician would play a role, because he was a witness of the first abduction. Yet, I still had problem to figure out how exactly Nameless and Deok-Jae would come into play. Let’s not forget that the disappearance of the vicious domestic has not been resolved. So far, only Nameless knows about his death… but if the servant’s body is discovered, then he will be brought up in connection with the first kidnapping. My initial thought was that Yoon Seungho would use the servant’s death in order to organize a purge. Nevertheless, so far I had no idea how his disappearance would be brought up. With my following theory, I believe to have found the perfect solution which I will explain below.
Furthermore, Min’s impersonification is also a major key in order to turn Jihwa into a scapegoat. Yet, since Baek Na-Kyum didn’t follow his sister, the subterfuge becomes pointless… How could this trick help him to frame the second lead now? Yet, I think that since Min is a smart psychopath, he can come up with new strategies very quickly. First, I had imagined that Min would approach the kisaeng and manipulate her by proposing her his help. This assumption is very possible, as Heena noona judges people based on their appearances and rumors. On the other hand, she despises rich aristocrats
, and Lee Jihwa definitely belongs to that category. After recognizing while composing the essay “Love, embrace and caress” that Heena noona must have listened to the guests’ conversations in the past in order to report things to the scholar, I came to this idea: What if Min leaks details about Nameless by acting like the second lead, so that the kisaeng chooses to contact the buffoon in order to hire him? With this theory, we would have a repetition of chapter 43 and 44. The manhwalovers should remember that in chapter 43, Min incited Lee Jihwa to commit a murder, while the Joker portrayed him as a savior. He would save his lover from the witch Baek Na-Kyum.
Note that Min is hidden behind a curtain, which means that the kisaeng can’t see his face properly. Secondly, while Heena noona is speaking loudly, she doesn’t realize that her words are heard by Black Heart. And with such a situation, Min can seize the opportunity. While spying on her and discovering her weakness, he decides to manipulate her. But in order to fool the kisaeng truly, he needs to hide his face. So he starts talking about Yoon Seungho so that he catches her attention. The kisaeng listens to their conversation, especially if the impersonificator explains that he has a grudge against Yoon Seungho. He is planning to do something against his childhood friend who humiliated him twice, hence he plans to contact Nameless. Since the kisaeng never judged her spying actions as a crime in the past, she will think that she can use this to her advantage. She will ask Nameless to “rescue” her brother from lord Yoon Seungho. Let’s not forget that in the first part of the second season, we had Nameless acting with a kisaeng. 
It is also possible that she thinks that if a feud starts between the main lead and the young master Lee, then no one will pay attention to her brother’s disappearance. In other words, she will try to seize the opportunity of the quarrel between Lee Jihwa and Yoon Seungho in order to diver the attention from Baek Na-Kyum, a new version of this panel: 
Note that this panel was presented, while Heena noona was at the mansion. The manhwaphiles shouldn’t diminish the wrongdoings Heena noona has already committed. Like Yoon Seungho underlined it to her, she trespassed his property and arrived with guards, hence she definitely violated the law. However, in her eyes, her action was justified, because she imagined that she was rescuing her brother. And remember what I wrote in “Love, embrace and caress”. If Heena noona knew that leaking information was wrong, she legitimated it out of care for the scholar. Let’s not forget that the kisaeng is not afraid of human justice, but of divine retribution! In her eyes, the gods would approve her actions, since Joseon justice system is so flawed. Out of love she justifies her misdeeds. And since my perception about her was proven correct in chapter 71
, then you can imagine how I consider her words in chapter 68: In this scene, she tries to use the authorities in order to convince her brother to follow her. How ironic that she uses Joseon justice system now to achieve her goal, while in truth she just looks down on it due to her social status! I mean, she is right to criticize such laws, but this doesn’t mean that she is allowed to disrespect people’s rights as well. She is indeed a hypocrite, a similar version of Yoon Seungwon. In her eyes, rich nobles are all evil. Why? It is because her loved one is a poor low-noble. Like my reader Luzy remarked to me, she must have hoped that if she helped Jung In-Hun, the latter would help her too: leaving her condition as a kisaeng, the former version of this scene: 
But love can’t be used for committing misdeeds. And since the night is long for the lovers, we have to envision that it is the same for the manipulators and conspirators. Heena noona could pay a visit to the “butcher” during the same night, not realizing that she is falling into the trap set by Min. In The Joker’s mind, her contact with Nameless will serve as evidence for a plot organized by the kisaeng. Framing commoners is the usual method for nobles to commit crimes. And Nameless experienced it for sure. The vicious lord is using the trouble she caused the day before as a diversion. Since she arrived with guards at Yoon Seungho’s mansion
, this violation could be perceived, as if she had attempted to hurt the wealthy protagonist. Her ruckus will be turned against her as evidence. It is still possible that a faked letter written by Kim pushes her over the edge, especially after witnessing how Baek Na-Kyum was treated during this night, but I have now some reservation about it. She is already determined to take some action.
After elaborating my theory about the way Heena noona will get involved, it is time to focus on the valet and his manipulations. There’s no doubt that Kim has already sensed that his position is in danger. Why? First, Kim can no longer treat the main lead like his puppet, and secondly, the painter is on the verge to become the master’s official partner. Note that in chapter 71, Yoon Seungho is considering the artist as a noble, while the former is now a commoner due to the removal of the headband. Observe that these words are shown in front of a door, an allusion that a servant is spying on them. I can use the chapter 37 as an evidence: 
Kim is speaking behind the door, the protagonists didn’t detect his presence, until the former spoke. In addition, the manwhaphiles are well aware that the episode 71 is a new version of chapter 37. The chapter 37 starts with the noble’s fellatio: 
As a conclusion, it becomes urgent that the artist’s position is fragilized. The valet has now lost the master’s favor (new version of chapter 52 
, because for the first time, his abuse of power was caught by the head-maid and the lord. 
In this scene, the readers could truly recognize Kim’s lie
. However, the head-maid couldn’t detect his lie for good, as the master permitted Heena noona’s stay afterwards. Yet, there is no doubt that the butler must have perceived this conversation as a possible source of danger. If she just asked the master, she would discover the truth and from that moment, the head-maid would no longer perceive him the same way. Note that she relied a lot on Kim’s judgment, therefore her colleague and the head-maid requested to know about his opinion in chapter 63
, a new version of the episode 17 
Both maids trusted the valet’s decisions and action. However, in the second season, the gap between the butler and the maids kept increasing. From my point of view, the incident with the lie must have pushed the head-maid to show a certain reservation and mistrust concerning Kim. She is no longer relying on his perception and behavior. That’s why in my opinion, she brought the meal to Yoon Seungho in chapter 69: 
Besides, we shouldn’t forget that during that terrible night (chapter 63), Kim disregarded both maids. He ignored their questions and comment. He left them behind without any explication. This scene is important, as we don’t see the valet’s eyes the whole time. However, we glimpsed his memories: he was wondering about the physician’s strange behavior. Therefore I come to this deduction: the butler was worried, if his complicity was witnessed. That’s why we don’t see the butler’s gaze in the panel above. Moreover, if you look closely, you’ll notice the butler’s pouting mouth indicating that he is really displeased. With this new interpretation, it becomes understandable why Kim ignored the maids. He had other worries. He needed to know what the physician had witnessed exactly. At the same time, he made a huge mistake, because he disregarded the maids for the first time. He gave the impression, he stood above them and could do anything he wanted. He was not obliged to answer them. And from my point of view, his attitude was the reason for the two women to distance themselves from him. Note that in chapter 66
, the one with the green hanbok stood at the door, while the other followed Kim in chapter 67. In my opinion, they are now using their own critical thinking, which represents a source of danger for the valet. Dolls are not supposed to think on their own.
Let’s not forget that during this same night, Kim went first to the shed and from my perspective, he desired to know about the painter’s fate. Had the lord killed him in his rage or not? If yes, then he didn’t need to pay attention to the physician’s strange behavior. What he didn’t expect was to see the sexual intercourse. Hence Kim was forced to use an excuse for his appearance. Since the physician stood in center of his concern, he remembered him. Hence he requested from Yoon Seungho the permission to leave the mansion. Note how he is searching for his words. On the surface, the manhwaphiles had the impression, he was shocked by the scene, while in reality, he got scared, as he had been caught. Fortunately for him, Yoon Seungho blinded by his fear and wound didn’t question about the motive for the late visit. As a conclusion, the maids and the physician are all witnesses of the butler’s rudeness and possible manipulations. Remember that during that same night, Kim abused his position by threatening the physician. But this is just a short-time solution. The doctor could definitely talk and as such indirectly reveal the valet’s complicity. Consequently, I deduce that for Kim, the maids and the physician represent a source of danger too. Hence he needs to remove them and the best way to get rid of them is to organize an incident leading to a purge: the maids and the physician will be his target.
My theory is that by hurting the painter, he can get rid of his “enemies”, the one who could cause trouble to his quiet life. At the same time, he would use the lord’s agony to gain his trust again, but more important, he could usurp Yoon Seungho’s power and position, a new version of this scene: while he is legitimating that he is acting out of concern for the lord’s lover. Remember that each incident will be employed twice, but there exist some variation. But since Yoon Seungho is no longer under his control, he needs to create an incident, where he is requested to act on the noble’s name. He can take his power, if there’s a poisoning incident. He is the only one who knows that if the painter is hurt, he will lose his mind again. He witnessed it in the barn and his spy must have reported to him the following words: This would be perfect for him. If Baek Na-Kyum is wounded or even dies, then the butler can manipulate the main lead. The physician was a witness in the first abduction and remained silent, as for the maids, they were involved in the first “poisoning incident”: 
Back then, the identity of the culprit was never revealed to Yoon Seungho and notice that the maids were questioned first. Moreover, the lord experienced with his own eyes, how they looked down on him (chapter 38). And now, you will think… but what about Min’s plan? Let’s not forget that Kim has in reality a different interest than The Joker. For him, what matters is that Baek Na-Kyum is removed or is so wounded that the lord starts relying on Kim again. Since he has already attempted to kill him through the main lead and it never worked out, he needs to take a different approach. The drugging of the painter would be the perfect solution for him, a new version of the episode 36. He would get rid of all possible threads in one shot: the purge among the staff, like I had predicted… but the butler would be behind it. Consequently, my theory is that a drug will play a role in the second kidnapping.
My reader Luzy was the one who first brought up the idea of “drug”. Her theory was that Kim would poison the main character so that the latter in his rage would hurt the painter. First, it is relevant to reminisce that the incident with “poison” occurred twice during the first season: chapter 35 
and chapter 36 
One failed, whereas the second succeeded. Striking is that during the second “drugging”, the head-maid was involved. But as you can imagine, Luzy’s idea led me to this theory: Kim will poison the protagonist.
First, remember that we have this incident with the spoiled rice which was downplayed by Deok-Jae who called it a prank.
However, the manhwaphiles shouldn’t forget in this incident, we had the two maids involved, just like Deok-Jae and Kim. 
I am quite sure that the readers will remember the butler’s words: this gesture was definitely a misdeed, worth of getting punished. However, back then no one got punished. Why? Due to Yoon Seungho’s good nature and leniency in the end. So we would have a new version of this incident. Nevertheless, like I mentioned above, we had two “poisonings” in the first season. One was a success and the other a failure. Since the commoner didn’t get hurt in the first “poisoning” 
, it means that the second will succeed. But more importantly, here is the twist. The victim of this “drugging” will be Yoon Seungho in reality!! I would like to point out that Kim never truly grasped the nature of the relationship between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum, hence he won’t expect this turn of event. How did I come up with this theory?
Remember that in chapter 47, the lord proposed his own meal to the painter after the discovery of the spoiled rice. 
Since the story is constructed like a circle, it means that we will have a repetition of this decision. However the chronology will be changed: the lord will give his own meal to the painter right from the start, while the former will eat the painter’s meal. The result is that Yoon Seungho falls ill.
But because in my eyes, the butler is very quick-witted, he will know how to respond to this sudden turn of event. He is already aware of Min’s project. The latter must have asked him to make the commoner leave the property, a repetition from chapter 51: 
I would like to outline the parallels here. The Joker was talking to a domestic, and since the manhwaworms saw it once, they don’t need to see this repetition. I have already noticed that the author uses similarities, when it comes to the main leads. Therefore we have to envision that the Joker Black Heart met Kim in the shed and they came to an agreement. However, like I mentioned above, the butler is not obliged to follow Min’s instructions. Exactly like in chapter 56, when the noble approached his “student”, he just requested this: 
That’s why I came to this idea. Min’s kidnapping will only be used as a second measure, for the butler’s philosophy is prioritize his own interests: And now, I am quite sure that you are questioning how this is possible that he can change his strategy so quickly. In order to elaborate this interpretation, the painterofthenight’s lovers have to remember the chapter 35. In one single chapter, Kim played tricks: first, he imagined that the painter was in the lord’s bed and another sex night would have caused the painter’s death.
Then he proposed the medicinal tea (the drug) and finally when he saw Baek Na-Kyum speaking with the scholar, he seized the opportunity to trigger the lord’s rage and jealousy.
He hoped that in his fury, Yoon Seungho would kill the artist. Yes, I judge the valet as very intelligent and perceptive. Why not? The painter as a commoner is also very smart. Imagined that when with one farewell, he could find closure and grasp the nature of his relationship with Heena noona and the scholar.
So now, what he needs to do is to make the painter leave the mansion. He will use the painter’s trust and his influence to manipulate the painter one last time, as the latter hasn’t grasped his true personality. Byoenduck visualized the trust between the two commoners thanks to the candle with the glass standing close to the three candles symbolizing the artist.
But it becomes a different story, if the butler usurps Yoon Seungho’s authority under the excuse that the latter has been poisoned and the culprits must get caught. He will use the master’s poor condition to frame the artist. And the incident with the spoiled rice happened, when the couple was eating their meal together in the bedchamber. 
Note that in this panel there’s an allusion to the artist’s wandering. I am expecting a new version of this. The painter will have some place to be: he will be sent away by Kim, the latter asking him to fetch the physician, as the lord has suddenly fallen sick. Knowing Baek Na-Kyum’s good nature and readiness to help lord Seungho, the painter won’t mistrust Kim’s suggestion.
As you can see, my idea is that the butler won’t reveal the poisoning immediately, just like it happened in episode 47. Remember that initially the maids were interrogated and they apologized… the discovery of the real culprit took place afterwards in the kitchen. Besides, in this scene, Kim was the one who gave the punishment: 
We all praised the butler for his intervention, while now I view it in a different light. On whose authority can he give a verdict? Actually, he should have reported it to his lord who would have made the decision. But note that in this scene, the butler plays the role of the judge. And now, imagine what happens if Yoon Seungho is “poisoned”.
First, people will think, the lord got sick again, as he was ill recently. And unlike in the past, the butler will ask the painter to bring the physician to the mansion. Knowing that Baek Na-Kyum cares for the master, he will listen to the valet’s suggestion and leave the property. He knows where the physician lives. And once arrived at the physician’s house, he will be abducted. How is it possible? This time, the doctor won’t be at his office and this is no coincidence. Either Kim or Min asked him to be absent so that he could feign ignorance later, the opposite behavior in connection with the first abduction. The valet will justify this, telling him that he needs to have an alibi. At the same time, it explains why an innocent doctor becomes an accomplice in the end. The physician chose silence and passivity forcing him to make another wrong decision… He needs now to cover up his crime.
But in order to frame the painter for “the crime”, the butler has to forge a letter explaining that he had to use such a method, because he was scared and he couldn’t push the main lead away. The male servant spied on their conversation in the bathroom. Kim will utilize the ruckus with the escape to his advantage. Yoon Seungho’s servants made sure that he was brought back to the property, hence his first flee caught the attention of the town folks. The male staff searched for him through the town. 
However, in my opinion, the butler has been miscalculating something: the tailor’s intervention. Imagine that the moment the painter leaves the property, the town folks will notice him. Furthermore, he had already caught their attention in chapter 45: 
So after the chaos created by his disappearance, I doubt that the town folks won’t notice him. In my opinion, they will stop him and ask if he is escaping again. However, this time Baek Na-Kyum will explain the situation, the lord is sick and needs a physician. Let’s not forget that in chapter 29, the inhabitants were intrigued by the conversation between the scholar and the painter
, indicating that they will serve as witnesses, when the “crime” is discovered.
The second miscalculation will be Nameless. The latter through Heena noona will hear that Jihwa visited the kisaeng house and he intends to do something against Yoon Seungho. The butcher will pay the red-haired noble a late visit 
(new version of this scene) and question him. In my opinion, Nameless will realize through the kisaeng’s words the existence of a conspiracy. From my point of view, the buffoon will recognize that someone is setting a trap and Jihwa will be framed, especially after hearing that someone impersonated him at the kisaeng house. Secondly, when Heena noona describes to the criminal how Baek Na-Kyum was treated by Yoon Seungho (tied up in a room), the Joker will realize that Baek Na-Kyum never revealed Jihwa’s crime. Moreover, the brother would have confided to his sister what truly happened. After hearing from the second lead that Yoon Seungho created a scene in Jihwa’s bedroom and warned him to never approach him again, Nameless will get aware that Yoon Seungho did forgive the second lead, hence he has nothing to worry. At the same time, Jihwa could tell him in his innocence that Min asked him to remain at home. Since he is doing nothing, then nothing bad can happen to him in Jihwa’s mind. And that’s how the criminal will become involved in the second kidnapping again. But this time, his role will be different, as he will recognize that if the painter gets hurt, Jihwa and himself will be framed. Hence he will pay attention to the painter and follow him. We will have a new version of this.
In other words, this time the criminal will come to Baek Na-Kyum’s rescue and as such redeem himself. however, the criminal will be forced to reveal Deok-Jae’s death to Yoon Seungho. On the other hand, during the loss of his conscience, Kim will start with the purge blaming the maids, the kisaeng, the painter and even the doctor. Since the painter is not present, he can be framed, as he can not defend himself, unaware of what Kim is planning behind his back. The butler will go to the authorities. From my point of view, he could use the first poisoning incident and frame the maids. Since the real culprit is dead and no one will speak in their favor, Kim will usurp his master’s authority, while faking that he is protecting his lord. On the other hand, since the lord has been drugged for a long time, I am expecting that Yoon Seungho will recover very quickly from this poisoning incident. And once Kim brings the letter as an evidence blaming the painter and the maids for their complicity, Yoon Seungho will realize the butler’s treason and betrayal. Unlike in chapter 11, he will believe in Baek Na-Kyum’s innocence, as the paper will become the proof of his probity.
Since we have to expect a repetition of the incidents from the first season, I realized that one event hadn’t been repeated yet: framing the painter for a misdeed. And remember that in chapter 11, Kim played a huge role in this incident and it happened, while the painter was away. However, the moment Yoon Seungho reads the letter, his eyes will be able to perceive the truth: he is surrounded by spies… as the paper will content sentences from conversations between the two protagonists. Consequently, he will discover Deok-Jae’s disappearance and he will remember that night. That’s how the purge will take place. I am expecting that during the painter’s disappearance and the lord’s sickness, Kim sends the guards to arrest Heena noona. Through this terrible experience, she will recognize her wrongdoings. She will tell the authorities about Jihwa and his plan, but as a kisaeng she won’t be trusted. Moreover, the authorities will reproach her spying activities. She will definitely accuse the lord for threatening her , but everyone won’t listen to her, until Yoon Seungho appears and believes her. That’s how the male servant will be questioned. Through that terrible incident the kisaeng will learn a terrible lesson. And since Nameless could rescue the painter from the second kidnapping, Baek Na-Kyum will be able to defend himself and protect his sister. While Kim wanted to eliminate people among commoners, Yoon Seungho will decide to retaliate against the nobles by utilizing Deok-Jae’s death and his own poisoning. The result will be a real purge, which valet Kim didn’t predict. Both Min and Kim will experience why “ignorance is not a blessing”. However, I have the impression, Min will be able to escape the purge, while he will betray and abandon his friend, the noble with the mole, who thought that he was playing just a prank. There’s no doubt that this time, Jihwa won’t be spared, yet thanks to Nameless’ help, the noble will suffer less.
As conclusion, Kim’s true personality will be finally revealed. At the same time, I am quite sure that the valet will send a letter to father Yoon to cover up the scandal… in case he got into trouble,
a new version of chapter 44. The butler will justify his action, that he wanted to remove the painter from Yoon Seungho’s side. He did it out of selflessness and concern for the eldest master. His son was in love with a commoner, a scandal. Kim’s involvement will cause the return of father Yoon in the main lead’s life.
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
Protected: Painter Of The Night: Sex and sensuality
Painter Of The Night: Setting the trap
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes.
After reading chapter 69 for the first time, my instinctive reaction was to comment about Min’s presence at the kisaeng house on Twitter. Some readers had some doubts that this was Min, because the latter usually wears a green hanbok 
and not a mustard-yellow. Jihwa is the one wearing such hanboks, which is indeed correct. I have to admit that I didn’t even think about this detail, because my eyes had paid attention to something else: 
When I saw the laugh in the background, for me there was no doubt, Min was at the kisaeng house. The laugh is The Joker’s mark, that’s how you recognize this villain. (chapter 19) 
(chapter 54) And remember that a joker is a synonym for a comedian. Naturally, I have other arguments for this interpretation.
First, notice that Jihwa has never been at the kisaeng house, he prefers visiting the tavern. 
(chapter 59)
Secondly, since the story is constructed like a kaleidoscope, this signifies that we have to expect a repetition with some variations. And in chapter 19, Min is indeed present at a kisaeng house with Yoon Seungho. 
And back then, he was inquiring about the painter before making the following suggestion to the main lead: they should drink the expensive wine at the protagonist’s mansion. Black Heart was already trying to set a trap, because he couldn’t stop thinking about the artist. He felt the need to have sex with the artist, but in order to have his wish fulfilled, he needed to create an occasion. So the expensive wine was the bribe. One of my readers supposed that Min had planned to have the painter drunk, this is definitely possible. However, I am more inclined to think, Black Heart desired to have the main lead drunk, so that he could approach the artist more easily. Why? I believe, Min has totally misjudged the painter’s personality due to his observations. Remember that he is someone watching people closely. Since he saw the painter getting aroused during the sex session (chapter 8), he had the impression that the low-born was experienced with sex, and as such was “depraved”. He felt attracted to the painter’s facial expressions exuding pure and raw desires. He saw a confirmation of his perception in the drawings as well. In chapter 19, he describes the drawing as lewd
, and for me he is actually thinking about the artist while commenting this. Moreover, this is the same expression Yoon Seungho will use during their Wedding Night: How could he paint such pictures without any sexual experience? Since Black Heart had the impression that Baek Na-Kyum was an easy man (a witch seducing men), The Joker proposed later to Yoon Seungho to bring the low-born to their sex sessions (chapter 33, 
chapter 52). He imagined, the artist would never be opposed to this, he just restrained himself due to Yoon Seungho’s order. That’s why he made such a comment about Baek Na-Kyum.
(chapter 52) In my opinion, Min came to the belief that the lord was the reason why the painter didn’t join them in their sex sessions. However, he was right and wrong. In reality, the painter’s inner struggles were caused by the scholar’s indoctrination, and later the lord did really desire to keep the artist to himself. Yet more importantly, Baek Na-Kyum is actually a very loyal and faithful person, hence he abhors sex sessions. Since Min’s first scheme had failed, then he needed to find a new approach. Hence he came with this idea: if the lord gave his consent, he would be able to get his wish fulfilled. Therefore he keeps suggesting to bring the artist to their sex sessions after each failed trap (chapter 19, 43). Simultaneously, each time he planned something, this always backfired on him. In chapter 19, he got to see the beautiful face of Baek Na-Kyum full of tears
, which could only arouse Min even more. Yet he couldn’t touch him. Then after urging Jihwa to organize the abduction and assassination, a few days later, Black Heart has to see the artist’s smooth legs, which can only increase his arousal. The more he tried to taste the commoner, the more he got tempted without being capable to satisfy his urges. Each time he even helped the lord in the end. In chapter 19, his plan with the expensive wine benefitted Yoon Seungho the most. The latter was finally able to “taste” the painter, and now Yoon Seungho has recognized that he can trust his loved one. He will now believe in his words, a huge step for the main lead. 
At the same time, Baek Na-Kyum got to hear that he could trust the noble, because the latter would believe in his words.
Moreover, since I have already portrayed the Joker as sadist, his desires can only increase, because he sees the painter’s condition has not improved. The last time Black Heart saw the low-born, he was a wreck… and I doubt that this repelled him. It had quite the opposite effect. Why do I think so? First, we have Yoon Seungho who confessed to the painter with these words: 
, therefore “wreck” had a positive connotation. Besides, we have Heena noona who complains about the painter’s terrible state. 
Yet at no moment the painter feels shocked or terrible. That’s why I believe, when Min saw the painter’s poor condition, his urges to taste the artist reached a new peak. That’s why he revealed Jihwa’s culpability. He needed to divert the lord’s attention, while he was already setting the next trap.
Because I have already elaborated this theory that Kim and Min have been talking to each other since the last party, I am quite sure, the butler must have revealed his knowledge to the Joker. Since Jihwa is no longer able to enter the place, the valet needed another pawn. In his mind, Min was perfect. So they must have agreed to use Heena noona during that morning. Both saw in her the perfect tool, because she already has a negative perception of Yoon Seungho. At the same time, she is close to the painter, therefore the latter will trust her more easily. Let’s not forget that when Min approached Seungho’s mansion, he saw the kisaeng making a ruckus in front of the mansion. He discovered her relationship to the artist. So far, no one had an idea where the artist was coming from. So their first plan was quite easy. Heena noona would bring the artist outside the mansion, while Yoon Seungho was busy making trouble at the Lee’s mansion. Both manipulators anticipated that once the artist woke up and saw his sister by his side asking him to leave, he would run away with her. In their mind, Baek Na-Kyum could only resent the aristocrat for the harsh treatment during the last night. That’s why Kim urged her to speak. He knew what she would say.
As for Min, he was very displeased with the new situation. Jihwa had really messed up, because for Min it would become more difficult to taste the artist. Besides, he is more than ever forced to kill Baek Na-Kyum, as the latter could reveal the scheme and the identity of the culprit. After the scandal Yoon Seungho created in town due to the artist, the Joker recognized that if anything happened to the painter, the main character would make sure to uncover the truth and make people pay for this. Remember The Joker’s words in chapter 43: They needed to fake an accident to cover up the murder, because killing a commoner was still a crime. And now you comprehend why Min revealed the abduction to the protagonist. Not only he wanted to divert the noble’s attention, but also he needed a scapegoat for the next kidnapping. Since Jihwa had disobeyed him, Black Heart felt the need to punish Jihwa. But most importantly, the red-haired aristocrat needed to pay for the situation he had created: Min was no longer able to concretize his “dream”: taste the painter.
But since Kim and Min thought that Baek Na-Kyum would follow his sister easily, we have to imagine that the Joker projected that he would encounter the low-born at the kisaeng house. He couldn’t wait to meet him, especially after seeing him as a wreck the same day. That’s why he went to the kisaeng house later. Since he had a servant by his side, the latter could ask the kisaeng’s guards, in which kisaeng house she was living.
And now, you are wondering why he is wearing a hanbok like Jihwa’s. It is quite simple: he is impersonating him. Since Jihwa refused to kill the painter, Black Heart envisioned that the noble had kept postponing the kidnapping due to fear and remorse. Therefore The Joker decided to come up with a new strategy, which would be so tempting that the red-haired noble wouldn’t doubt his words. 
Min asked the same thing than Nameless. 
He just needed to wait and remain in his mansion, having a low profile. In other words, Black Heart asked him to do nothing! Since Jihwa would do nothing, he wouldn’t have to feel remorse, and more importantly, he wouldn’t commit any crime in his eyes. Since the second lead is quite naive, he doesn’t realize that knowing the existence of a crime and not revealing it is actually a crime too. In his mind, his hands would remain pure, whereas in reality he is an accomplice. That’s why Min asked him not to run away. How did I come up with impersonification? It is because we already had one, and like I have already exposed it, each incident will be repeated. Jihwa impersonated lord Song, when he sent the fake letter. 
And remember Jihwa’s reaction back then. He never saw any wrongdoing in his action, he didn’t recognize the seriousness of his misdeed. 
He even blamed the main lead.
In my opinion, Black Heart had envisioned the painter’s return, therefore he was waiting for him. Since neither Jihwa nor Min had ever visited this place, this means that no one would know their real identity. From my point of view, Black Heart had already anticipated to taste the artist that night. And if Baek Na-Kyum had disappeared, the kisaengs would have noticed the nobles with the color of the hanboks. However, the problem is that Heena noona returned alone that night. Hence Min’s scheme had failed again.
And now, I would like to point out the presence of the noble with the mole. He is noticeable with the purple robe. First, the latter is often seen with Jihwa, hence the aristocrat is already guilty by association. From my point of view, Black Heart is so determined to have his wish fulfilled that he is willing to jeopardize everything. And in my opinion, the poor friend has no idea about this. The manhwaphiles shouldn’t forget that in season 1, Min already betrayed him once, when the latter got humiliated and evicted from Yoon Seungho’s bedchamber. 
The Joker didn’t leave the lord’s chamber, hence he chose to side with the host. Moreover, we have the second lead’s admiration for their relationship: 
(chapter 59) Jihwa will realize how fake this relationship was. There’s this possibility that Min also manipulated his friend, telling him that he was playing a prank. Remember that in chapter 37, Min lied to Jihwa and the noble with the mole sensed it, but decided to overlook this deception. For Jihwa has already been connected to the first abduction, the moment Baek Na-Kyum disappears, Jihwa will be suspected. Since he has the bad habit to sneak out of the mansion, the kisaengs’ testimony could play in his disfavor. Yoon Seungho, blinded by his first mistake, would no longer believe in his friend’s innocence. As for the friend, even if he claims, he was with Min, the main lead won’t trust his words either, especially after the incident with the topknot. And if he participated in the prank (calling Min Jihwa for example), persuaded by his friend to play a prank, then he is done. But the problem was that the kisaeng returned without her brother, which must have surprised Black Heart.
But this doesn’t mean, Min will give up. In fact, it is the opposite. He must have heard the sister’s comment who speaks her mind so loudly that she doesn’t realize the danger. But we shouldn’t forget that Min is not working alone in this. Kim is already setting the next trap. He used the servants for that. Since he has been by the lord’s side for so long, they trust him. So when the domestic warned Heena noona to never return to the house, he was actually repeating Kim’s words. Why do I think so? Notice that the valet is always the one referring to the lord’s bad reputation, and observe that the domestic uses the expression “is known as”
, indicating that in truth he doesn’t judge his master like that. As the manwhaphiles can detect, the staff have become Kim’s eyes and mouth, that’s why he can definitely act in the dark. And while he was not present in chapter 69, I could still feel his presence due to the domestics. The butler is already trying to drive an edge between the kisaeng and the protagonist. He desires to push Heena noona to ignore her brother’s wish, and let him kidnap, although in her mind, she will be saving him. Now, she would become the perfect tool. As you can see, I am expecting a new conspiracy, and they will use Heena noona’s ignorance. For them, it is truly a blessing. And since Min is impersonating Jihwa, he can act, as if he had an interest to separate the couple. Moreover, he can even tell her that he will protect her brother from Yoon Seungho, as he has power and wealth as well. The noble won’t be able to abuse his power. And since Min is always laughing and smiling, Heena noona will trust him, as for her Yoon Seungho is just a violent fiend. However, in order to push her, they will have to fake a letter. Since Heena noona spoke in front of the domestics
, that he could write her
, if he changed his mind, Kim will know about this and forge a letter from the painter. Another possibility is that Kim leaves a fake letter from the painter behind, telling Yoon Seungho that he chose to return to his sister’s side. As you can detect, the letter will be the downfall for Min and Kim in the end. That’s how the conspiracy will be revealed. The main lead will know immediately that another crime has been planned and even committed. So far, only the noble knows that Baek Na-Kyum is illiterate. When they returned from the tailor shop (chapter 40), Kim wasn’t following them, hence he never saw that the lord had to read for the painter. This will be the new version from the chapter 56. I have to admit that there is this possibility that once Heena noona receives the letter, she decides to go to the authorities, and ask for their help. Remember that she mentioned it once, therefore it is possible that she decides to do it. And this is definitely something Min and Kim are not expecting. Furthermore, the readers should recall, they tried to use Nameless, and the latter didn’t act like anticipated as well.
As a conclusion, all the traps set by Kim and Min are doomed to failure. I am still convinced that Kim will be forced to reveal his true role in the end, because Min will pressure him. Striking is that the manipulators believe that they know everything, while in reality they are judging people based on appearances and their words. They imagine, the others don’t have any secret, because they are so easy to read and easily manipulated, which is far from the truth. I have not mentioned Nameless here, as so far, I have no clue what he will do exactly. But there is no doubt that Nameless will play a huge part in the failure of the trap set by the manipulators, since he desires to keep his promise to Jihwa. Only a joker can destroy another joker.
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
Painter Of The Night: Decisions
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes.
In the previous analysis “Jealousy and trust” I demonstrated the importance of jealousy in the different relationships. In chapter 69, we see Heena noona getting resentful towards Yoon Seungho, for the latter has affected her bond with Baek Na-Kyum. The latter is refusing to listen to her advice. At the same time, the manhwaphiles could see the change in Yoon Seungho’s behavior concerning the painter. He chose to trust the artist, and ignore his own feelings (insecurities). But the powerful noble is not the only one to make a resolution in that chapter. The artist makes the choice to stay
, while the kisaeng decides to ignore her brother’s decision. Therefore we can say that the chapter 69 stands under the sign of “decision”. That’s why I will examine the episode 69 under this aspect.
What caught my attention is the lord’s behavior in the beginning. He stands in front of the door, but doesn’t open it. This contrasts so much to his attitude towards Jihwa, when he barged in his mansion. 
Note the disparity between these two pictures. On the one hand, the manhwaphiles only get to see his feet, on the other he is shown as a whole person in the second picture. From my point of view, these images reflect the main lead’s mental disposition. He feels strong and confident in front of his former childhood friend, because the latter committed a huge misdeed towards him. But he feels so small and powerless in front of the painter, because he knows that he was the one in the wrong here. He mistrusted Baek Na-Kyum’s words, as a result he treated him as a sex toy, while he had claimed that he would adore him. And this panel announces the noble’s gradual transformation. For the first time, he is not following his desire to approach the artist, he is now listening to his conscious. It is possible that he heard Heena noona’s words and the artist’s confession, but from my point of view, it doesn’t truly matter. The most important aspect is that for the first time, Yoon Seungho didn’t allow his hand and feet to act on impulse. He always listened to his emotions, when it came to Baek Na-Kyum, which led him to make wrong decisions: he used his feet and hands to approach the artist and hurt him. In my opinion, he must have been reminded of his own words, when he punished the vicious servant in chapter 53. 
: “Who do you think you are to put hands on him?” Who was he really to Baek Na-Kyum? If he had to be judged by the way he had treated the painter the day and the night before, then he was definitely abusing his power. Hence he had no right to decide about the painter’s future. That’s why he retreats and returns to his bedchamber. Although he desires to be by the artist’s side, he is well aware that he can no longer force himself onto the artist. And if he truly heard their conversation, then this signifies, he realized that there was hope for him, as the painter had developed an affection for him. Imagine that if he did listen to their discussion, this signifies that Yoon Seungho decided to overlook Heena noona’s metaphor: a symbol of misfortune. Anyway, in front of the door, he was not thinking about himself and his pain, rather about the painter. This mirrors Baek Na-Kyum’s words: he keeps thinking about the master. 
But Yoon Seungho is one step ahead of him: he is no longer in denial about his love for the painter. That’s why I already perceive a change in the lord’s behavior in that panel. He is retreating, because he wants to let the painter make his own choice. 
He doesn’t want to put pressure on him, because if he does, he will always feel insecure. After hearing that Baek Na-Kyum had remained by his side, because the scholar had hurt him
, Yoon Seungho’s heart had not only been wounded, but also poisoned. The butler’s revelation in chapter 50 gave him the impression that he had never been selected. That’s why he couldn’t trust the artist in the end. And now, you comprehend why I perceive Kim as really dangerous and evil. Kim fueled Yoon Seungho’s self-hatred and insecurities in order to tame and use the lord. Since the main lead’s biggest wish is to be picked by Baek Na-Kyum, he realized that he needed to give the painter some space and time to decide his own fate. There is no ambiguity that Kim’s words played a huge part in his resolution to give the painter the freedom to determine his future. When the butler mentioned the father
, his intention was to remind the main lead of his own suffering. Father Yoon was an abusive and controlling father who kept imposing his will onto the main character. The latter was pressured to obey. Yet, what Kim didn’t expect was Baek Na-Kyum’s resolution to remain by the lord’s side. The butler had imagined that after that treatment in the barn (he kept hearing refusal from the artist), the latter was resenting the main lead and would run away, if he had the opportunity. Simultaneously, he also envisaged that by comparing him to father Yoon, the noble would choose to send away the painter, do the opposite of his father: releasing from his prison. Kim made a huge miscalculation: he never anticipated the real depth of the master’s affection for the painter. He wouldn’t give up on him. The main character took the advice differently. And by giving the painter the freedom to determine his destiny, Yoon Seungho will be able to perceive himself the truth.
So what did he do after his return to his bedchamber? Like my follower @Yaoon72898111 correctly pointed out, the main lead must have felt desperate and infuriated , because you can see shattered glass and the bed cover in front of the door. He was annoyed, not because he had been wounded by Heena noona’s words, but because he had realized that he had ruined everything for not trusting the artist. After giving some thought, I believe that this is a new version of chapter 48, when the lord drank first, before throwing the table. 
Yet the huge difference is that in chapter 69, he was mad at himself. However, as time passed on, he could calm down. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that he had forgiven himself. It was, as though he was punishing himself, when he sits on the terrace in the cold. Observe that he is sitting in the corner reinforcing the impression of contrition. He feels unworthy to be treated as a master, hence he didn’t ask his staff to clean the mess. We have to imagine how tormented the lord must have felt, while waiting for the kisaeng’s departure. He is still unsure about the artist’s choice. Will he leave him behind or not?
Striking is that Byeonduck focused a lot on the noble’s hand and gaze in this chapter again. 
On the surface, it looks like Yoon Seungho fell back into his bad habits. He destroys the room, then he drinks and smokes in order to numb his body and emotions. Let’s not forget that after the return of the painter in chapter 61, 
he was also smoking in front of the window, giving the impression that he was serene, while in reality he was literally boiling inside. However, I believe that this time, it is different. Note that the hand appears like frozen and emotionless in the panel, because the fingers are not moving. Besides, the gaze seems cold, yet clear. From my point of view, the aristocrat is here firm. He made the choice not to intervene and not to follow his emotions blindly. However, this doesn’t mean, he isn’t suffering internally, quite the opposite. The huge divergence from before is that he is willing to accept the outcome of the situation. Since he had been blinded by his own emotions, he is well aware that he has to ignore them. In other words, he is tormented, while waiting, but he doesn’t let it transpire. At the same time, we should remember that he is sitting in the cold as a sign of penitence.
That’s why when he hears the noise of the door opening, he looks immediately in that direction. 
He was waiting for a signal. This explicates why the author allowed the manhwalovers to zoom on the noble’s face. In a brief moment, Yoon Seungho’s gaze mirrors his true soul
: he is scared, desperate and wounded. The sound of the door announces the final verdict, it could become the death knell for Yoon Seungho. If the painter decides to follow his sister, then he has to accept this. We have to imagine that in the main lead’s mind, the longer Heena noona remained by Baek Na-Kyum’s side, the higher the probability was that the painter would fulfil his sister’s wish, as it implied that she would increase the pressure on her brother. Yoon Seungho was well aware that if he entered the room, he could ruin everything. If he heard the conversation – I believe, he did -, he had sensed that he had not damaged his relationship with Baek Na-Kyum for good. But as time passed on, he became more and more uncertain. Hence he feared this moment. However, he was resigned to his fate. That’s why his mouth is closed. He has no saying in this, he is powerless. Like my follower @_tryxy_ observed correctly, this is the gaze the protagonist had after the low-born’s disappearance. Nonetheless, there exists a divergence. In chapter 60, the wounded and desperate gaze was focused on himself, hence he is felt betrayed. In chapter 69, all his thoughts are evolving around the painter. He is definitely prioritizing the commoner now, despite his agony.
And now Yoon Seungho’s attitude in episode 69 stands in opposition to chapter 30, when he threw a tantrum acting like a spoiled child, whose favorite toy had vanished. Here, he was surrounded by his staff and beating the domestics, whereas he sent them away in the last episode. He could no longer blame them for his misery. He was responsible for this scandal and his wrongdoing. Hence I come to the conclusion that Yoon Seungho pondered a lot, while he was sitting alone in the dark, but more calmly, unlike during the night of the low-born’s disappearance
. He made preparations, in case the painter would select him. Therefore, he is definitely more mature and responsible. He is not only learning from his mistakes, but also feeling remorse, which I can only approve as a teacher. Finally, he starts using his mind more rationally.
Striking is that when he asks the painter about his resolution, he doesn’t interrogate him directly. 
Here he is feigning ignorance, and for a reason. If he had asked if the painter was leaving him, his inquiry could have negatively influenced the painter’s resolution again, an indication that he had already planned how to react in face of the verdict. That’s why after hearing the artist’s statement: 
he is so relieved 
, because there’s a glimpse of a smile on his lip. Note that Baek Na-Kyum is calling him “my lord” or “sir”, displaying that despite the incident, the aristocrat is still respected. The commoner still views him as his master. In this scene, the manhwaworms can sense another contradiction with chapter 30. While the main lead literally flew towards Baek Na-Kyum in the first season
, in chapter 69 Yoon Seungho walks slowly with dignity.
He is even followed by a servant showing that he is here indeed acting a honorable host. The other huge contrast is that he has already removed his manggeon. Besides, there’s light in his room now. It was, as though the lord had been relaxing in his chamber, and not waiting for the guest’s departure. Therefore he is not properly dressed, when the sister and the painter leave the study. His hanbok is opened, and without the manggeon. He looks like he feels enough comfortable around Baek Na-Kyum to show himself like that. He desires to create the illusion, he was well aware of her presence and had allowed it. Yet he didn’t pay too much attention to the scandal from the morning. At the same time, he doesn’t want to reveal to Baek Na-Kyum that he has discovered the true reason for his recent desertion. He is truly applying the philosophy from his butler: feigning ignorance. He acts, as if nothing had happened. There’s a reason for that. By doing so, he hopes that the artist will overlook his harsh treatment. In my opinion, as long as he has no idea of the outcome, he has to keep the pretense. If he expresses his wish too obviously, in his mind this can still affect the artist’s decision. He can still leave at any moment. As a conclusion, he behaves in a totally opposite way from the previous night and from the morning. He is willing to heed his words. 
(here as contrast: chapter 66)
And then why is a servant following him? From my point of view, since the protagonist still had no idea about the low-born’s decision, in case of his departure, he wanted him to accept the clothes he had bought for him. He wished the painter not to get cold and simultaneously to see that he had offered them, because he wanted to please the artist, and not in exchange for sex. 
He couldn’t forget the clothes left behind during the night of the abduction.
Another difference from chapter 30 is the gesture of the aristocrat’s hand. 
While he grabbed the commoner by the throat and pushed him against the wall, this time he gives the artist’s neck with the scarf. He is tender and careful, making sure that his loved one doesn’t get cold. As you can observe: when the lord approaches the commoners, he is determined to treat Baek Na-Kyum as his honored guest, while in the past due to his tantrum, the artist’s status became affected. From that moment, he was perceived as a servant, especially after the lord had dragged him into his chamber. Not only he had pledged loyalty to him in front of Jung In-Hun, but also he had accepted to do anything for the powerful aristocrat. In chapter 30, Baek Na-Kyum had no real saying, he had even been forced to make an oath in order to protect the scholar.
However, in chapter 69, the moment the painter calls him “my lord” and “sir”, he indeed acts more like a lord. Since the artist is considering him as his master, then he has to behave like one. That’s why he gives his permission to the painter. 
As you can sense, Yoon Seungho lets the artist determine the nature of their relationship. He has become a staff of his household, the moment he called Yoon Seungho “my lord”. In other words, the situation has returned to the beginning, with a huge difference. Baek Na-Kyum is doing everything on his own volition. Yet, there is no doubt that Yoon Seungho will ensure that Baek Na-Kyum’s status evolve. He will make sure to woo him properly so that he can accept him as his partner, now Baek Na-Kyum is just a favored domestic. Hence you understand why Byeonduck used elements from chapter 35 as well. The lord was on the verge on giving up, when he saw a glimpse of hope, because the painter was blushing. In chapter 69, there’s hope too. That’s why the lord’s gaze is much softer
, and his face lets transpire relief. The other positive aspect is that they are truly listening to each other. Baek Na-Kyum realized that Yoon Seungho’s comment about his noona’s behavior was correct. She had indeed insulted him by barging with guards in his mansion, and the noble had been benevolent. He had truly kept his promise, hence he switches the way he is addressing to Yoon Seungho. 
It becomes again “lord Seungho”. That’s why I see a huge progression in this episode. Baek Na-Kyum is the one determining the evolution. At the same time, he recognizes the good intentions behind the main character’s words and actions. He has already asked to send a servant to accompany his sister to the kisaeng house. What moved me the most was the noble’s facial expression, when he heard the painter thanking him. For the first time, someone was noticing his kindness, and was even grateful. This explicates why Baek Na-Kyum was blushing the whole time. After hearing the lord’s confession, he was able to hear and feel the care and affection in his attitude. In other words, it was, as though the magical words “you’ve made a wreck of me”/”I adore you” had lifted a curse, and the artist was no longer blind and deaf any longer. However, despite everything Yoon Seungho’s biggest wish didn’t get fulfilled. The painter was still not looking at him the same way he was looking at his noona and the scholar. 
That’s why Baek Na-Kyum is represented without eyes. Nevertheless, unlike in the past, the aristocrat doesn’t get enraged and resent the painter. In fact, this reminds him that he always wanted the painter to smile. That’s why he grants him the wish to follow his sister to the door. And with this decision, he actually achieves his goal. For the first time, the painter is able to smile. 
Sure, there’s another reason here. The protagonist is happy, because he could see Heena noona, and he wasn’t truly abandoned, like he had imagined.
As the manhwaphiles could observe, the author combined the chapter 30 and 35 together to outline the huge change in the protagonists’ behavior. While the low-born is able to perceive Yoon Seungho’s attention, genuineness and selflessness, the latter has decided to trust the painter and show him his true self. Both have truly matured, they are making decisions for themselves for the first time. This explicates why the low-born’s bow represents the climax of chapter 69.
This time, he is not doing out of convenience and fear, like in chapter 12,
but out of true respect. He sees Yoon Seungho like a true master, who can be generous and affectionate. The image of a lord with mood swings is not longer existent in the painter’s eyes. And now, you grasp the impact of the butler’s manipulation. The latter created a fake bow in chapter 12, by telling the painter that Yoon Seungho was a terrible master due to his bad temper.
He had disguised this negative perception by mentioning the lord’s traumatic past. However, by outlining that he had worked for him for a decade and he was still scared of him, he was insinuating that the time spent with him was the cause of his pity, and in reality, the lord was indeed true to his reputation. During this night (69), this negative notoriety has been removed, because in front of him, Baek Na-Kyum only sees a calm and gentle master, who treats him and his sister very well. So the words he told his sister, he treats me very well,
have become a reality. His special treatment will no longer dependent on Yoon Seungho’s moods, which were triggered by Kim’s manipulations. In a single day, Baek Na-Kyum was able to regain his reputation and to perceive the lord’s true personality correctly. He is no longer relying on others, hence this signifies that Kim can no longer manipulate the low-born as well. And this is no surprise that the valet is absent here. He has to be out of his master’s sight. The lord had witnessed how Kim acted behind his back. Yet he is still unaware that the valet is still ruling behind his back, as the servants trust him. Without him, both main leads can breathe more properly, his words are no longer polluting their mind. That’s why the windows are all open, while the lord is waiting for the painter’s decision. The master is clearing his head, making his own decisions without listening to his butler’s info.
Although both protagonists are still awkward around each other, they are now observing each other 
, ensuring that the other won’t be hurt and they don’t misunderstand each other. Both are trying to use their own senses in order to interpret the partner’s reactions and thoughts correctly: the eyes, the touch,
the hearing. Yoon Seungho has to do more than the painter. He needs to earn the painter’s trust again, hence he externalizes his thoughts: he trusts the honesty in the artist’s words. That’s why their relationship can improve very quickly, there’s no one who can interfere between them any longer. Even Heena noona was not able to convince her brother to leave the mansion. Baek Na-Kyum is trusting his own senses and instincts in the end.
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My instagram-tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and for the support, particularly, I would like to thank all the new followers and people recommending my blog.
Painter Of The Night: “Respect and Love”
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes.
In the analysis called “A man consumed by lust”, I not only compared Yoon Seungho to a head-kisaeng, but also described that all the characters, including Baek Na-Kyum, would perceive the main lead as a man obsessed with sex. Striking is that with the entrance of Baek Na-Kyum in the main lead’s life, the lord got to discover this reflection about him which took him by surprise. Moreover, he realized gradually, how disrespectful the nobles and the servants were towards him. Therefore I came to the conclusion that the artist was not only associated to a mirror and love, but also to respect. And this observation led me to the following conclusion: Baek Na-Kyum is carrying in himself all the virtues which are necessary for a good social life:
- love,
- respect,
- justice,
- honesty,
- equity,
- responsibility,
- loyalty,
- freedom,
- tolerance,
- and peace.
That’s why I decided to examine the behavior of the characters under the aspect of respect and love, as all the other values like justice or tolerance are strongly linked to these two values.
But the problem is that although the commoner embodies these values, this doesn’t mean that he is truly tolerant, honest, just and respectful himself. If the manhwaphiles recall the first season, they will surely remember that Baek Na-Kyum wasn’t actually honest towards the main character, since his mind had been influenced by the scholar’s doctrines and Heena noona’s prejudices. Right from the start, he lied to the noble due to his preconceptions and his belief in rumors. What caught my attention is that in reality the painter’s honesty was only reflected in his body (his tears and his blushing) and in his unconscious. It was something that the low-born couldn’t control, but these honest facial expressions attracted the aristocrat so much to the point that he wanted the artist to see them in the paintings, therefore he utilized the mirror during the first sex marathon.
Right from the start, the artist was sexually attracted by the main lead, especially by his huge phallus, which was implied in this panel: 
and only displayed with the second episode from the Alternative Universe: 
. This explicates why he desired to have replaced the second lead (chapter 2) and got aroused during the threesome. The brush was focused on the lord’s hand touching the butt (chapter 9).
He deeply desired to have sex with Yoon Seungho, but his conscious kept denying the obvious. And his lack of honesty is still present in the second season, hence he still perceives Yoon Seungho as man consumed by lust which is visible in the paintings. The artist legitimates his wish to stay at the mansion, because it is for the teacher’s sake, then later for the protagonist, who is in love with him. At no moment, he wants to become responsible for his feelings. He keeps resisting his affection and attraction towards the main lead. Why?
From my point of view, it is related to the painter’s huge libido. First, the readers shouldn’t forget that the low-born started erotic paintings of sodomy at a very young age, indicating that he discovered his sexual orientation very early on. Moreover, there’s no doubt that the commoner is quite kinky: his different wet dreams (chapter 2
, chapter 6: sex with a stranger 
, chapter 56 
) expose his deepest sexual desires, the main lead should pleasure him. This explains why Baek Na-Kyum is never facing the lord and always passive in his wet dreams. This shows his reluctance to admit his kinky side. Imagine that he ejaculates, when he hears “you’ve made a wreck of me”, but not when the lover whispers “I adore you”. He even got erected again, when he saw the butler in front of the barn, which was noticed by the aristocrat, and he even had a climax in the courtyard.
His reluctance to admit his affection is strongly intertwined with his strong sexuality. There’s this fear that he might get perceived as a man consumed by lust himself. If he accepts his love and as such his huge libido, he might get looked down and excluded. This is understandable, because he has abandonment issues. I believe, the readers should remember that the artist was scared of people’s opinion during the first season. From my perspective, although he has come to accept his homosexuality, he is still under the influence of the social norms: a man shouldn’t love another man. Besides, let’s not forget that Jihwa, as a reflection of the painter, has a similar mindset. He uses sex in order to disguise his emotions. As long as the painter is not honest to himself and as such doesn’t respect himself, he can’t be genuine with the noble. In my eyes, Baek Na-Kuym continued viewing the lord as a man obsessed with sex for many reasons. First he was too hurt by the teacher’s words. He never paid attention to the lord’s words and gestures. However, as time passed on, he never reviewed his perception out of convenience. With such an image, the noble was responsible for the sexual intercourses, and this attitude was even reinforced by the maid’s comments.
But now, he is facing a dilemma, because his noona offers him the possibility to leave the mansion, but he refuses her proposition for futile different reasons: the scholar, his living conditions, the painting, the lord’s love… Only once cornered, he finally admits his love, but he describes it as something negative (he is scared, it is against his will). And this interpretation made me wonder about its origin. I have the impression that it is not only related to the brainwashing perpetrated by the scholar. I think that Heena noona could be the other explanation. Since sexuality played a huge role in the head-kisaeng’s life, it is possible that she has a negative perception of sex. Since she wanted the painter to remain quite innocent and pure, she sent him away. Her desire was to protect him too, but deep down she hoped that he wouldn’t outlive truly his homosexuality. If he was painting erotic pictures by the scholar’s side, she imagined that he would get happy. She had the impression that this would be sufficient for the artist’s life, because he would get “loved” and supported by the man the artist admired. 
Since Jung In-Hun gave her the impression, he was caring and selfless, she imagined that the learned sir would take care of the artist. And this leads me to the conclusion that she has a very romantic and pure image of love, because in her world there is a strong connection between sexuality, power and violence. However, she never asked for the painter’s opinion, she just sent him away, thinking that she was doing it for the boy’s best interest. For her, the boy would keep outliving his sexuality through art. On the one hand, this would explicate why Baek Na-Kyum is scared to accept his sexual appetite, on the other hand it also shows that love is strongly connected to respect. And for the first time, the artist is not blindly following Heena noona’s actions and decisions. So this scene exposes Baek Na-Kyum’s growth, he is transforming slowly into an adult, making his own decision, although his words ooze a certain fear and hesitation.
That’s exactly when Yoon Seungho comes into the picture. He will continue playing the role of the painter’s liberator. The aristocrat forced Baek Na-Kyum not only to admit his sexuality, but also his homosexuality. But now, it is time for the painter to accept his love and as such his strong libido. That’s why the moment the lord tells him that he can leave the mansion, the former will set the commoner entirely free. That way, the low-born can no longer use the excuse that the main character was living together with a man obsessed with sex. Let’s not forget that during season one, the main lead helped the commoner to not only recognize his own sexual orientation, but also to use his own mind. Therefore I predict that the aristocrat will be the cause for the painter to eliminate all the prejudices he had about people, to no longer care about people’s impression. As you can see, Yoon Seungho also embodies honesty, but a different kind: a free spirit. And this comes from his education, the main lead reads a lot and ponders a lot (chapter 61) (chapter 62). He questions things and people’s behavior , that’s why he is so obsessed with the “why”. He desires to understand the motivation behind the painter’s words and actions. In other words, he is looking beyond the appearance and surface. However, Baek Na-Kyum was surrounded by Heena noona and Jung In-Hun, people who value appearances very much. That’s why the head-kisaeng said that she saw everything. But what did she see and hear? She discovered through the town gossips that the painter had caused a commotion by running away. Then she saw the artist tied up and breathing heavily, and the noble’s lie could only contribute to reinforce her negative perception she had about Yoon Seungho. Besides, when she claimed that she recognized the artist’s painting
, we have to wonder which drawing she saw. So far, when she opened the door, she only viewed a blank sheet of paper.
And thanks to @shoei’s comment, I realized that the butler could have played a role here. Remember that the butler was asked in chapter 44 to throw away the picture of Jung In-Hun’s inauguration. And since we have a scene where Kim gave the ruined painting to Yoon Seungwon, I believe that in chapter 65, we had a repetition of this scene, but the readers were not able to witness it. The valet showed her the painting in order to confirm the painter’s identity. The other evidence for this theory is the absence of Kim’s eyes, when the head-kisaeng states that she recognized the artist’s painting. Therefore Heena noona jumped to the wrong conclusions. She had the impression that Baek Na-Kyum was still in love with his learned sir, and the hell-raiser was just abusing his power and position. But like I have already written many times, reality is far more complex and appearances should always be queried. From my point of view, the noble will help him to get stronger to the point that he won’t care about people’s gaze and gossip.
For me, the painter serves as a carthasis to bring out the virtues hidden in both protagonists due to the reflection. In other words, while the aristocrat purifies the painter by emancipating him from any prejudice and social norms, the artist cleans the lord by unveiling his caring and sensitive side so that the latter is forced to accept the existence of his heart and drop his fathers’ principles. The master of deception is in reality a person who treasures love and honesty above anything, but since he was surrounded by selfish and hypocrite people, he had no occasion to show his true self. We shouldn’t forget that Jihwa never showed his true emotions: his smile and cheerful gaze were masking his own insecurities. From my point, the second lead never allowed Yoon Seungho to see his blushing and, when he cried in front of his childhood friend for the first time
(chapte 18), Yoon Seungho had already been moved by the painter’s tears.
What caught my attention is that although Baek Na-Kyum helped the aristocrat to see how disregarded he was by his peers and even Jihwa, the artist didn’t show any respect towards the main lead either. One might argue that Yoon Seungho treated the painter poorly, and even described him as plaything. 
Therefore the painter was not obliged to respect Yoon Seungho. However, the truth is that the main lead had other intentions in the beginning, if you examine the first two chapters carefully.
First, we shouldn’t forget that the story doesn’t start with Yoon Seungho speaking with the domestic investigating the creator’s identity. The real story begins with the main lead getting fascinated by the publications. 
Furthermore, the painter hadn’t worked for almost one year after vowing to never paint again. Hence it took Yoon Seungho some time, until the absence of new works made the lord realize that he could no longer live without them. He needed new erotic drawings. Besides, in the first chapter, we shouldn’t forget that Yoon Seungho even visits the painter to the tavern, which is really unusual for him. Let’s not forget that the noble only went to the tavern in chapter 57 after receiving the fake letter from lord Song. This is not a place the lord usually visits, rather Jihwa. This outlines the huge respect the lord showed towards the low-born. A high noble goes to a tavern, even talks directly to Baek Na-Kyum. In the lord’s mind, the artist should have felt flattered. And then we shouldn’t forget that when the artist was sitting in the study, he noticed the expensive paper and the different brushes at his disposal.
This shows that the protagonist had made preparations for his arrival. Therefore I come to the conclusion that the noble had intended to invite the artist to work for him. He was his admirer and fan, hence he treasured the artist’s hands so much. 
However, the painter couldn’t recognize the respect and admiration the main lead was showing, because it was directly connected to sex. Since the lord had been brainwashed to accept sex as a normality (he lets the low-born touch his loins!!), the artist could only feel repulsed and scared due to the scholar’s indoctrination. Sex and physical touch are dirty, that’s why Baek Na-Kyum lied to the noble in the end. He disregarded the noble’s genuine compliments and effort. Since the noble had been hurt and disrespected, he retaliated and showed his anger. Striking is that the lord stopped talking after the second lie, though he was very talkative before. He is left speechless.
In my eyes, there’s a strong connection between the master’s violence and his silence. Studies indicate that persons in jail with a violent temper have often less vocabulary, which exposes the importance of words and voicing his emotions. It is also proven that the less you are allowed to express yourself, the higher the risk you get violent. I could add another example. It is well known, that a baby will scream and become agitated, when he is frustrated. Since he can’t express his thoughts and emotions, the only way to show his discomfort and anger is to scream. Since the painter denied his identity, the lord had no other possibility to continue a conversation. On the surface, in that scene, the aristocrat looked like a violent child killing the domestic, the truth was different. The situation triggered a flashback. And that’s the moment, Yoon Seungho started treating the commoner as a plaything. He dragged him to his mansion and kept him in the barn, until he achieved his goal. During the second season, I pointed out the ambiguity about Baek Na-Kyum’s status at the mansion: who was he really? A wife, a concubine, a fiance, a favored servant or a prostitute? Since there’s a reflection in this story, it came to my mind that the painter’s status was also ambiguous in the first season. However, back then it was different: 
was he a guest, a servant, a plaything or a prostitute? We have diverse clues showing that Baek Na-Kyum was truly treated like a honored guest:
- Yoon Seungho goes to the tavern like mentioned above in order to invite the low-born personally.
- He has already prepared the room for the painter and his study is next to the lord’s chamber, a huge sign of respect. The manhwaphiles should remember that the teacher’s room was further away.
- Furthermore, I believe that he is the one who took care of the painter, when the latter was sleeping on the floor. Remember that in my analysis “Who is this Baek Na-Kyum?”, I had assumed that the servants had to clean up the mess left by the low-born. However, since we have two episodes in the season 2 indicating that the lord cleaned himself the painter (chapter 45 and 59) and brought him to the bed (chapter 62 and 65), I came to the realization that in episode 2, the noble already washed himself the artist,
and even organized the bed. 
Imagine this: a noble is taking care of a commoner. Yet at no moment the painter wondered who took care of him. - We have two invitations
(chapter 8) and 
(chapter 23). - When the painter arrives in the lord’s chamber in chapter 8, he is the last to enter the room. It gives the impression that he was the guest of honor. The lord kept waiting for him. He must have felt restless, because he started painting something. And observe how he welcomes the artist. He is full of joy and smiling.
And when the noble with the mole requests from him to send away the artist, his guest of honor, he evicts the arrogant aristocrat. - In chapter 11, the noble even desires to eat his lunch with the painter. If the butler had not mentioned the study, then we have to wonder if the noble in his good mood would have invited the painter to his bedchamber.
One thing is sure: the lord did care a lot for the artist right from the start, but he made two huge mistakes: he never anticipated a rejection from the low-born, because in his mind he had everything what people would like to have. Secondly, he never envisioned that he would expose Baek Na-Kyum to danger, because for him the latter didn’t represent a thread to anyone. He was just a commoner.
Striking is that despite his care, the painter refused to remain at his mansion, hence he tried to flee in chapter 4. And in order to convince him, Yoon Seungho proposed the deal: 
if he paints for him, then the lord will help his learned sir in his career. With this new approach, the lord thought that he had finally been able to achieve his goal. But note that with this proposition, the lord was actually selling himself. He was in fact the one asking for a favor, in exchange he would offer his connection. Sure, we shouldn’t forget that the noble had not truly promised anything to the scholar (just an empty promise), but Baek Na-Kyum was not aware of this. At the same time, it revealed the lord’s mentality. This was his way to achieve his goal: prostitution. Sure, sex was not directly involved first, but since the artist was supposed to create erotic pictures, the boundaries were already dilued. And this is not surprising that the moment Jung In-Hun realized that Yoon Seungho was not impressed by his skills, he decided to use the painter as prostitute. However, in my eyes, the lord had already become one, the moment he offered that deal to the painter. And this shows that the lord was showing himself disrespect in the end, just to get the painter working for him. As you can observe, both protagonists didn’t respect themselves in truth, consequently they were not able to respect each other.
And if you look at many drawings created by the painter, you’ll observe that they all show a main lead acting as a prostitute, trying to please the partner: each time he keeps looking at the lover, in order to confirm that he is pleasing his partner: 
Either Jihwa is moaning or the painter is blushing or moaning
, but the lord is always focused, starring at this partner. That’s why the moment the lord had sex with the painter, it affected the artist’s status. The latter could only be judged as a prostitute, because he was also doing it for a favor, for the scholar’s sake. Therefore the following pictures mirrors the prostitution, both protagonists act as whores in the end.
While in the drawings from the first season, the protagonists switched the role of the “whore”, in the following painting they are portrayed both as such. 
That’s why the painter was not paying attention to details. As a conclusion, the moment the noble proposed the deal, he not only lowered himself, but also affected the painter. That’s why the teacher’s words are so painful, because he is actually the one benefitting from this deal. The moment the painter has sex with the main lead, he is indeed a prostitute. Yet the irony is that he is not doing it for himself, but for the scholar: This is the height of hypocrisy. Simultaneously, with these words, he makes sure that the painter can’t even enjoy sex, making him feel terrible.
At the same time, Yoon Seungho did treat the painter as a servant. First, he dragged him to the mansion and kept him captive, until the artist accepted the offer. Then the aristocrat punished him after the second drawing was ruined. The huge contrast between being a guest or a servant exposes that the lord did treat the artist as a plaything. Everything depended on his mood. On the one hand the lord acts like a happy child showing off to his other guests: 
(chapter 8), on the other hand, when he claims this in front of Min, he is hiding the truth as well. Yoon Seungho had to make a deal with the painter, hence the latter wasn’t truly a plaything… but a person who was using the noble’s wealth and power for his loved one, the teacher. And by praising the painter’s talents, he contributed to expose the artist to danger, to make him the target of envious or jealous aristocrats. In these moments, the main lead showed an immaturity. However, we shouldn’t underestimate the role played by Kim here. The latter ensured that the artist would lose his title “honored guest”, when he suggested to his lord to visit him in the study in chapter 11.
However, if you pay attention to the chronology of the lord’s wrongdoings (the poem, the punishment in chapter 11…), you’ll notice that the artist didn’t respect the lord either. Yet this is not obvious, because Baek Na-Kyum doesn’t get physically violent. Yoon Seungho took the poem without asking, so did the painter with the expensive wine. 
He never wondered about the origin of the wine. When the lord criticizes the poem, the painter says that he is not allowed to make fun of it, because he is just a man consumed by lust. Nonetheless, Baek Na-Kyum has also no right to say this to Yoon Seungho either, because he is just a commoner. That’s why the master reminds him of his own social status, he is just a peasant. And we have a new version of this situation in chapter 41, when Baek Na-Kyum yells at the main lead, although the latter was caring and showed concern. He desired to know the origin of the painter’s sadness. However, the artist was unwilling to explain the cause for this. That’s why the lord slapped the artist, reminding of his place. He was a lord and the host here. 
When the lord gets angry with the painter in chapter 11 due to the ruined image, the painter apologizes to the noble, yet from my perspective his apology is not really genuine
, especially if you contrast this to the one in chapter 62: Furthermore, when the painter begged for the lord’s mercy, he was willing to do anything else, except to paint, 
, he was forgetting one important aspect: he was actually breaking his promise to the main lead. He was actually taking advantage of the main lead, because this meant that the latter would be the only one who didn’t get what he truly wanted. Baek Na-Kyum was here only loyal to the scholar, he was willing to sell his service for the main lead in exchange for his sponsor of the teacher, yet he was still refusing to create erotic pictures. Simultaneously this showed that the commoner started mistrusting the teacher, as he was suspecting his involvement. In other words, he was trying to call off the deal, while the scholar would benefit the most from him. And now, you can understand why the lord got upset and felt betrayed, leading the lord to threaten the artist: the low-born was trying to change the content of the deal, while Yoon Seungho was selling his wealth and connections for the artist. And since this story is build like a kaleidoscope, the new version of this incident was in chapter 38, when the artist chose to lie to his learned sir in order to protect Yoon Seungho. As you can see, both protagonists were disrespecting each other… sure, the master was more brutal, when he felt disrespected and hurt, but this doesn’t mean that the artist was totally blameless.
Then in chapter 30, the painter feels the need to pledge allegiance to the master in order to protect Yoon Seungho. From that moment on, Baek Na-Kyum swears that he will do everything the lord wants. This marks the painter’s official start as Yoon Seungho’s servant. He is no longer perceived as an artist “Will do anything”, explicating why the pictures started losing their importance in the noble’s eyes. So the moment both had sex with each other, the painter became “prostitute”, as he was doing it for the learned sir.
As you can see, the lord always did himself a disservice with his actions and decisions. Each time, he had the impression, he came closer to his goal, only to discover that this was an illusion. He even complicated the situation so that everything was so confusing for the artist. He was an artist, a servant and at the end a prostitute. Let’s not forget that right after swearing to follow Yoon Seungho’s order, the master removed the head-band from the painter, 
showing his desire that he never wanted him to be a servant. As you can observe the painter’s status was never clear, the lord had no real idea what he truly desired, as his unconscious and conscious stood in conflict. For me, he was already in loved, his heart and gaze had been moved by the painter’s talents. But since he was always rejected, he tried to find ways to achieve his goal, to keep the artist by his side, nonetheless he complicated more and more the situation and created walls between him and the low-born.
As you can observe, the disrespect is mutual affecting both. Yet, the one who is seeking desperately the artist’s attention and love is the noble, hence the painter has always had the upper hand, which he never realized. That’s why little by little, Yoon Seungho is always forced to give in. Therefore, the climax is reached in chapter 66: 
Yoon Seungho is unable to stop the artist so that he admits his submission and decides to choose the artist as his master: However, this time the commoner’s hand is not led to the loins, but to the master’s eyes and hand. That’s why I believe, the nature of their relationship will honestly change in the future. Now, they will start sharing what they have on their mind, the biggest wish Yoon Seungho ever had: 
But Yoon Seungho was also treated as a plaything by the painter. If you pay attention, Baek Na-Kyum is actually the one using Yoon Seungho as sex toy. Note that the commoner only expresses his satisfaction
(chapter 45) 
, but he never tries to please the lord… “he is always on the receiving end”, like Yoon Seungho observed in chapter 45. Finally, in chapter 49, the painter tells him that the noble is only there to procure pleasure to him: 
an affront and he shut his mouth with a kiss!! 
He is not allowed to protest, he has to accept his situation: he is there to procure pleasure. Yoon Seungho was definitely not pleased and even hurt, yet he let him have his ways, because he sensed the genuineness in the kiss. And now, the manhwaphiles can comprehend, why the lord treated the painter as a sex toy during the second marathon. He was following the words expressed by the painter to the letter, but he was switching the roles. Since he had been treated as a sex toy, then he was allowed to do the same. However, he refused to kiss the artist
, because as a sex toy he is only there for a sexual intercourse and nothing more. And this was reflected in the last painting: this explicates that Min has the impression that Baek Na-Kyum is craving for sex, while in truth the latter was just longing for love. As a conclusion, both protagonists were treating each other as tools, explaining why they kept hurting each other with their lack of respect.
When Kim criticized the artist for acting as a spoiled princess, he was telling the truth, but here he had another intention: he wants the painter to accept his status as “servant”, in order to stop the artist from gaining more power over the master. Observe that the valet didn’t tell him, he should love the noble. He just asked the artist to act like a servant. And the return of the head-band marked a new turning point, because it showed that Baek Na-Kyum was now accepting Yoon Seungho as his master, and he was no longer a prostitute, but he couldn’t treat the main lead like a sex toy either.
As a conclusion, there was a reason why Baek Na-Kyum kept this image “a man consumed by lust”. That way, he could maintain a certain integrity: the master was the one with a huge sex appetite, while the dream revealed the low-born’s true nature: a man with a strong libido. Furthermore, the words expressed in chapter 68 gives the impression that the artist is indeed using the main lead: the latter provides him a roof and his material… he can paint. Then who is using whom here? That’s why I come to the conclusion: the moment the lord decides to free the painter so that he can decide about his own fate, he shows him respect. But at the same time, the deal with Jung In-Hun is cancelled. They can make a clean start. Yoon Seungho can no longer be used, he is actually starting showing respect to himself (although he doesn’t realize it). As you can see, both characters were actually acting like “prostitutes” or “servants” and were used as playthings. And since each action the powerful aristocrat makes is reflected in the painter’s words and action, I am anticipating that the painter will be the one who so that this rumor will become a reality:
That’s why the moment the painter accepts his strong libido and his love for the rich main lead, this means he starts respecting himself. Consequently, when the master releases him and allows him to leave the mansion, he shows finally respect in its purest form. And with respect comes love! Thus, this will be reflected in the relationship between Yoon Seungho and Baek Na-Kyum.: both won’t be a prostitute, a servant, a noble or a sex toy any longer: they will be two men in love with each other.
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and the support.
Painter Of The Night: Yoon Seungho’s love confession: “I adore you” (second version)
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes.
Here, I would like to thank Luzy for her contribution. Thanks to her observations, I am able to get more insight.
The love session in chapter 58 represented a turning point in Yoon Seungho’s life for two reasons. First, it meant that the lord was dropping all the principles taught by his two fathers: father Yoon and Kim. He was no longer perceiving sex as a battle, but a symbol of love. Secondly, he was willing to reveal his heart and to become dependent on someone else. That’s why he chose to make love to the painter that night. Since the painter was already associating him to home, 
a synonym for family, Yoon Seungho had the feeling that Baek Na-Kyum was already considering him as a part of his family. For him, there was a glimpse of hope that the artist would come to return his affection. Yet, if he wanted to win his heart, it signified that the main lead had to confess first. But a simple love declaration was not enough, as the words would never be strong enough to convince the painter. Besides, the lord was quite perceptive about the low-born’s personality. Because the latter had never been able to have a different image from the lord (a man consumed by sex), he needed to present himself differently. Since their first night Yoon Seungho has known Baek Na-Kyum’s dream: showing his love through his body and words. 
For he was aware of the artist’s wish, he knew that if he recreated their Wedding night, he could move Baek Na-Kyum’s heart. He would be haunted, exactly like him. We shouldn’t forget that back then, the aristocrat had experienced himself, how Baek Na-Kyum had confessed, although he was risking to be rejected. He wanted his learned sir to see and feel his love. 
And now, you comprehend why Yoon Seungho chose to repeat the artist’s same gestures from their Wedding night. 
(the same kiss mixed with surprise) He not only initiates the first kiss, but he gives a certain innocence and purity to the kiss. 
He was still deep down hoping that if the low-born sensed his love, and even heard his love declaration, he would be moved and would reciprocate the feelings. Therefore we have the repetition of the same gestures from their Wedding night. Since the painter voiced the wish to be embraced
, note that the noble never stopped hugging Baek Na-Kyum the whole time. 
He did even more: he kept the treasured hand in his own hand.
That way, the painter would feel the noble’s love. The manhwaphiles shouldn’t underestimate the signification of the hands. The latter symbolize the heart, hence a confession is often associated to the hand. Let’s not forget that nowadays a married couple wear rings. So Yoon Seungho hoped through the hand’s grip to reach Baek Na-Kyum’s heart. Not only Yoon Seungho kept facing the artist, another signal for love, but also he ensured that their bodies would continue touching each other. It was, as if he couldn’t bear the thought of being distanced from his loved one. If you compare the aristocrat’s sex sessions with the artist and the nobles, you’ll detect that there was always a certain gap which contrasts to this scene. The lord is in fact showering the artist with his love. However, only in chapter 68, the manhwaphiles discover through the painter’s words 
that Yoon Seungho said more than admitting his defeat: 
. He confessed with the following expression: “I adore you”, the moment the painter hugged him back. 
He had the impression that his love had been perceived by the artist and he was accepting his affection. That’s why the following panel is this image: 
Observe the similarity 
(chapter 21) with the picture from chapter 62. The only difference is that Baek Na-Kyum is not saying anything. Yet, in chapter 21, Byeonduck showed us this image: 
And here is the question: why didn’t she draw the same picture with Yoon Seungho’s face in the front in chapter 62? It is important to recall that the panels 
represent the lord’s memories. He is remembering that night, when he declared “I adore you” after getting embraced. He can only recall the absence of the artist’s reply. Baek Na-Kyum never said anything, which did disturb Yoon Seungho. The lord desired to hear the same words from the low-born. With the absence of a real answer, Yoon seungho got scared. He had the feeling that despite his confession, he had not been able to woo Baek Na-Kyum properly. That’s why he put his head on the artist’s chest and heard his heart pounding. He was looking for a response. He heard and saw the heard pounding and wished to perceive in it a sign that he had been accepted. Yet, the lack of a reply from the painter made him feel very insecure… and his confession had been triggered by the commoner’s embrace. Nonetheless, the love confession was not made at the end, but during the love session. The only words Yoon Seungho got to hear was 
(“my lord”) and . The manhwaphiles should remember that during their Wedding night, it was the main lead who proposed to be addressed as “my lord”, that’s why this gave him more hope during their second love session.
And now you can understand why Yoon Seungho smirked, when he heard Baek Na-Kyum calling him my lord after waking up in chapter 62
. For him, these words were now associated to illusion. They reminded him of the social gap. He was still perceived as a lord and not as a lover. The importance of the calling is even outlined in the following panel: 
(chapter 62) Observe that the lord stops his hand from caressing the painter’s cheek. That’s why he got upset, felt stupid. The artist might have mentioned “home”, but in a servant-master relationship. Baek Na-Kyum was just his domestic and Yoon Seungho his lord. Yoon Seungho could only get upset for falling for an illusion. But since the painter had hurt him with his embrace after hearing the lord’s love confession, he faked the hug in the barn. 
The aristocrat wanted to make the painter experience the same… giving him the illusion that his apology had been accepted, yet in reality he was deceived. That’s why Yoon Seungho calls the painter a conniving creature.
He had the feeling that he had been played, because the artist never rejected his advances, but never replied to his declaration. Then with the commoner’s disappearance, he felt that he had been tricked. Let’s not forget that during that night, Yoon Seungho decided to drop his fathers’ doctrines, and since he had been abandoned, he could only come to the conclusion that his father’s principles had been correct: opening up and revealing his vulnerability would lead to defeat and humiliation. With Baek Na-Kyum’s vanishing, he was taught a lesson, therefore he could only become like his father. 
However, this was just an illusion. Yoon Seungho was not able to fully transform like father Yoon. Why? It is because his love for the painter is already so strong that it can never be destroyed. And if you observe the chapters 63-64-65, you’ll notice that Baek Na-Kyum was moved from the storage room 
to the courtyard 
, then to the painter’s study 
to finally end up in the lord’s bedchamber 
. From my point of view, the noble was unable to stick to his principles. He declared that the artist would only be his sex toy at his disposal, the reality was that the protagonist needed Baek Na-Kyum by his side.
Furthermore, in chapter 63, Baek Na-Kyum changed the way he addressed him during the sex marathon. From “my lord” or “sir”, the commoner starts calling lord Seungho 
exposing a certain intimacy. And this was the trigger for Yoon Seungho to change his behavior. Observe that right after, he turns the painter around
, so that they are facing each other. As a conclusion, the way the painter calls the lord is relevant, exposing that if Baek Na-Kyum calls the aristocrat “Seungho”, this will definitely move the lord’s heart. And we shouldn’t forget that in the painter’s dream, the noble keeps calling the artist “Na-Kyum”, a symbol of intimacy and love. 
(chapter 56) 
(chapter 66) The painter likes to be addressed that way too.
Besides, I would like to point out that Baek Na-Kyum’s body is clean in chapter 65, therefore we have to imagine that just like in the past, Yoon Seungho took care of it, which stands in opposition to the night in chapter 58-59. Back then, the painter had to clean himself and note that’s how he slowly saw the lord’s affection.
I also believe that this new version of sex marathon was the master’s desperate measure to force the commoner to accept him and his love. Since the words and the love session had not been successful, then maybe his father’s principle (sex as a battle) could help him. Therefore the painter became a wreck.
What caught my attention is the difference in the love confession compared to the one in chapter 21. While Baek Na-Kyum just expressed his admiration with “like”, the main lead chose the same words than Jihwa’s: 
And these words from the childhood friend touched Yoon Seungho’s heart, he felt the power behind this idiom. This explicates why he mentions it to Baek Na-Kyum, exposing his biggest wish: And since he had been touched with these words, he decided to employ the same expression, with the desire to move the painter’s heart. However, as you can see, Baek Na-Kyum never truly paid attention to these words, because when he leaves the room at the physician’s home, he never mentions it. At no moment, we get to hear these words from the commoner. In fact, it looks like Baek Na-Kyum was more touched by this , because he had an orgasm right after. Why didn’t he react the same way with “I adore you”? From my point of view, “a wreck” is a metaphor, and as such it transports a certain image: a destroyed boat. The picture expose the power and the strength of the feelings. Let’s not forget that the main lead is a painter, hence a metaphor can help him to visualize the significance of these words. But since Baek Na-Kyum was turning his head the other way, Yoon Seungho never saw the painter’s blushing and tears of joy. On the other hand, the readers could detect that the master quite dislikes the idiom “like”. 
For him, it is definitely too lukewarm and insipid. First, he was pleased, when the commoner declared this
(chapter 45), he imagined that he was slowly getting closer to his goal, until he realized his mistake. From my perspective, the expression “I like” is related to the scholar Jung In-Hun, because it is quite superficial and observe that Baek Na-Kyum utilized this expression, when he was acting as a “prostitute”. As you can see, the two protagonists have a different connection to idioms, this created a huge misunderstanding between them. And if the noble had not been diminished by his fever and influenced by his fear and insecurities, he would have noticed the happiness in Baek Na-Kyum’s face. Yet he never looked at the artist’s face later, since he feared rejection.
But since I explained that this night in chapter 58 stood under the sign of responsibility (read this analysis: https://bebebisous33analyses.wordpress.com/2020/11/06/painter-of-the-night-yoon-seunghos-love-confession-wreck/ ), it means that when the lord declared he adored the commoner, he desired the artist to become responsible for him. In other words, the positions were switched, if the manhwalovers compare it to the chapter 40. Thus the moment the artist ran away, the lord could only come to conclusion that he was unwilling to take his responsibility. Besides, the lord could only envision the painter laughing, because a noble had asked from a commoner to become reliable for him. This explicates why Yoon Seungho imagined this scene. 
Nevertheless, we have to remember that in the first season, we have two chapters about responsibility: chapter 39 and 40. While the main lead selected Baek Na-Kyum as his bride, Jung In-Hun chose to betray the artist and refuse to take any responsibility for him. He decided to abandon the low-born out of resent and anger. Therefore I am more than ever convinced that Yoon Seungho will decide to send the artist away, but not out jealousy and hatred. He will do it for the opposite reasons: He doesn’t want to bind the painter to himself, like his father treated him in his youth. Out of love, the lord will set him free. However, what he doesn’t expect is that Baek Na-Kyum won’t accept this offer and will argue with the main lead. Is Yoon Seungho breaking his promise from chapter 40? 
Remember that I already predicted a slap from the artist. There’s no doubt that Yoon Seungho will definitely mention that he only brings misery to the commoner, hence he keeps crying in his presence. 
Yoon Seungho will tell him that he is a bad omen for the artist, a new version of this 
. That’s why I believe that the lord’s selflessness will make the painter realize the genuineness of Yoon Seungho’s affection. At the same time, out of fear, he will call the lord “Seungho”, just like he changed his calling, while he was facing death
. Cornered and out of fear to lose Yoon Seungho, the painter will be forced to declare his affection. I am expecting a new love confession from the painter containing the following elements: the painter calls the master “Seungho”, a new version of the following panel: 
. In this scene, Jihwa called him Seungho to stop him from inviting the painter to their sex session. Moreover, I am expecting that the painter will utilize his own expression to voice his love for the noble: : I am fond of you. Remember that these words made me ejaculate, so if this moves him, he will try to move touch the noble’s heart the same way. And after their third love session, the painter creates a new painting, where both protagonists are facing each other in a tight embrace. The new workwould reveal how the master has turned him into a wreck, but in a positive way contrasting to Heena noona’s words. Let’s not forget that Baek Na-Kyum ejaculated, when he heard this expression: You have made a wreck of me.
But there was a witness of Yoon Seungho’s love declaration, the so-called Best Man: Kim was spying on them, hence we only see his presence through the bucket of water. Note that we hear the painter’s exclamation, meaning that the butler could hear their conversation. And the lord’s confession to the low-born represented a huge thread to Kim, because so far, he had always been the lord’s right hand!! And since the heart is linked to the hand, it signifies that Baek Na-Kyum would become the noble’s new hand. That’s why I truly believe that the valet made sure that Nameless could kidnap the painter. We have to ask ourselves: How could Nameless be so sure that the lord would believe that Baek Na-Kyum had run away? He had not the time to change the foot prints in the snow and make new ones… but Kim had the opportunity and the time. Let’s not forget that the valet was the one who placed the protagonists’ shoes next to each other. That’s why he was scared, when he realized that the physician had seen something. He had to ensure that the doctor hadn’t seen his complicity and he wouldn’t talk. And if my theory is correct, then this indicates that Nameless is now aware of Kim’s participation. He is the only one who will know the whole truth, especially if we take into consideration that he has already planted a spy in the mansion.
As a conclusion, Yoon Seungho’s confession showed the lord’s true feelings and sensitivity. Yet, Baek Na-Kyum has never truly grasped the intensity of Yoon Seungho’s emotions, since he is still in denial afterwards. 
He still has difficulties to accept this situation and his own feelings. The lord had indeed reached his goal to move the painter’s heart, but due to the painter’s own insecurities, the love confession didn’t push the artist to reciprocate the affection. And it becomes understandable why the noble was so hurt after waking up. He had the impression, he had made a fool of himself, and the artist had faked his feelings with the embrace. Simultaneously, Yoon Seungho was blinded by his principles and insecurities. However, we have to understand that Kim played a huge part in the lord’s relapse and fury, a new version of chapter 50. He made sure that Yoon Seungho would distrust the painter’s words, therefore he used the expression “I do not believe” 
instead of “I know”, because he knew the master’s hatred for this expression. Belief stands in opposition to insight, moreover the butler utilizes a negation reinforcing negative feelings. Note that he doesn’t say: I believe, he didn’t run away… here, he was manipulating the master. And now, it is the painter’s turn to face his own fears and to make a real decision: will he accept to be sent away, as such be abandoned again (in his mind)? Or will he be willing to assume his affection and responsibility?
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and the support.
Painter Of The Night: Kim’s power – part 2
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes.
In the first part, I exposed why Kim should be perceived as a villain and not as hero. Many readers believed that the butler’s words would always reflect the truth, while in reality it wasn’t the case. I have already unveiled, how the valet lied in chapter 11, 29, 35, 67 and 68. Nevertheless, with just a few examples, I don’t think that many readers are willing to change their opinion about the valet, and even question the genuineness of his concerns and advices. That’s why I desire to continue deconstructing the myth about Kim as hero.
Therefore I will add another lie, which my reader Luzy noticed. In chapter 17, Kim is asked why he brought back the lord’s meal. 
He justifies his return that the master was fast asleep , so he decided to let him rest. However, the readers see that the lord looks rested and seems to be waiting for the butler.
He sits in his bed, he has no dark circle. 
If he had been suffering from insomnia, then he would have looked like in chapter 35.
And since chapter 35 contrasts so much to the episode 17, it means that chapter 35 is a reflection of this incident. This leads me to the following observation. First, Kim never opened the door. Secondly, he wanted his master to remain in his room, so that he wouldn’t know what was happening in his mansion. This would stand in opposition to chapter 35, where Kim led the lord on purpose to the opened window so that he would get jealous. With this comparison, it becomes palpable that Kim knew about Jihwa’s presence, hence he advised the maids not to approach the study. Kim was determined to protect Jihwa’s intervention. The final evidence for his lie and complicity is the absence of Kim’s eyes, a signal that the valet is closing a blind eye and a deaf ear to the incident. But more striking in this scene is the valet’s disrespect and disobedience towards Yoon Seungho. He made the decision on his own that the lord shouldn’t eat the meal. It was truly an outrage, yet due to his “concern”, I fell for his lie myself. Notice that the maid questions him, if he asked the noble. He denies it and uses concern for his action. Striking is that when Kim manipulates, the author is not showing us the butler’s face, but the door or the rooftop. 
(chapter 35) This indicates that Kim’s worries are truly fake, they just serve one purpose: to protect his interests. He would like to have his peace and if my theory about him being a spy, then he has every reason to remove the artist from the lord’s side. Anyway, Kim makes decisions for others (Baek Na-Kyum and Yoon Seungho) without asking them. It was, as if he knew what was the best for them, whereas in truth, he is doing it for his own benefit. Moreover note that he is just a servant, yet he acts, as though he stood above the lord by disrespecting his lord. For him, worry and kindness are tools serving him to justify his passivity or his disobedience. And the scene in chapter 17 is important, because it reflects the chapter 68, where Kim had also disrespected the master’s order. However, in chapter 68, he was caught in the act. For me, the incident with Jihwa clearly revealed Kim’s silent complicity. If the main lead hadn’t been awaken, then he wouldn’t have been able to protect Baek Na-Kyum from Jihwa’s violence. In chapter 17, the butler attempted to keep his lord in the ignorance by stopping the head-maid of the kitchen from warning the master. Yet, the servant failed, therefore in chapter 18 he stood behind the maid. 
That’s Kim’s other MO. If someone has to be blamed for this ruckus, then it should be the head-maid, explicating why Kim always hides behind others (chapter 29, chapter 50, chapter 65). In chapter 18, once he realized that Yoon Seungho was not angry, then he could act as a docile, but strong servant, hence his position was switched again. Later he stood in front of the maid. With this new interpretation, Kim’s visit to the doctor in chapter 65 appears in a different light as well. Here, he is actually threatening the physician, (“are you trying to have me killed?”), saying that he will reveal the doctor’s passivity and silence to Yoon Seungho in order to scare the poor man. With this attitude, he can ensure that the doctor won’t testify and at the same time, if his secret is leaked, then Kim can make sure that the physician takes the whole blame. He hides behind him to take the responsibility for the abduction. That’s why the man begs for his mercy. And this incident clearly exposes Kim’s scheme and manipulation. In this scene, the butler acts like a lord, therefore we have the following expressions “I beg you”, “spare me”, which are usually addressed to a noble. Yet, since Kim is just a servant, he can’t become violent himself. He just needs to employ the lord as his weapon. As a conclusion, the main lead is definitely his puppet, who will help him to get rid of any source of trouble. However, we shouldn’t forget that in this chapter 65, the valet reveals his complicity, as he realized that the physician had noticed something. He had no idea if the poor man had noticed his involvement. He needed to make sure that the doctor didn’t talk, because if he did, then the noble might also come to question the domestic’s whereabouts.
As you could see, Kim is not just a liar, but also an excellent manipulator, because he uses his knowledge to his advantage, like in chapter 19. Here, he feigns ignorance concerning the culprit’s identity for the disappearance of the expensive wine. There’s no ambiguity that he knew, since he had no eyes in the picture. Yet he hoped that this incident would cause a riff between his master and the painter. Imagine in this scene, Min even asked for the thief’s death. 
Yet, nothing happened, because the lord covered up his “crime”. In other words, Yoon Seungho saved his life. However, the lord was not celebrated as a hero in this scene. And like I explained it before, I am even suspecting that Kim left the bottle on purpose, expecting that the artist would take it. And now, I have found a proof for this theory. If Baek Na-Kyum had truly stolen the wine, then he wouldn’t have drunk it in the open. Note that he is not hiding at all. From my point of view, Kim used the painter’s ignorance to his advantage (“ignorance is a blessing for the perpetrator”), and he just didn’t expect his master’s reaction. Finally, when Yoon Seungho reveals the incident to Baek Na-Kyum the next morning, 
the low-born is embarrassed and gives quickly a fake excuse, because he realizes that he was the cause for the ruckus.
From my point of view, the commoner had no idea about the true value of the alcohol, and only discovered it with Yoon Seungho’s revelation. That’s why his lie was easily discovered, the artist was only reacting to the lord’s words and indirect questioning. He had to give himself an alibi so quickly. Note that he didn’t feel guilty, until he heard the truth. In other words, Kim applied his philosophy in Baek Na-Kyum’s case. For the butler, the painter’s ignorance and innocence was a blessing, because this could help the domestic to get rid of him. For me, the chapter 19 and 23 are strongly intertwined, therefore we should see the valet’s leitmotiv in a different approach. With only these two examples (17-19), it becomes visible that the valet Kim has already targeted the artist. However, the lord was capable to protect him twice. That’s why I would like to revisit the circumstances of the rape at the pavilion. But for that, we need to examine the previous chapters (23 and 24) closer.
What caught my attention is the conversation between Kim and Baek Na-Kyum. The butler kept using the question word “why” which can not be a coincidence. 
In other words, Kim was digging for information, as he is well aware that knowledge is power. At the same time, it indicates that Yoon Seungho’s obsession for the “why” is related to the valet. From my point of view, the servant must have asked the main lead the same questions in the past. Yet, since Yoon Seungho’s affection was genuine, the latter never suspected the true intentions behind the interrogation. Therefore, this scene exposes that Kim is already working as a spy, as he is invading the painter’s privacy, trying to figure out the true nature of the relationship between the master and his “guest”.
Let’s not forget that we could see how he utilizes his knowledge to his advantage (chapter 11, 12, 17, 19, 35, 65, 67, 68). Due to the artist’s innocence, the butler discovered that Baek Na-Kyum had not only forgotten his love confession addressed to the wrong person, but also he had been tasked to paint a new drawing for the lord. That’s how Kim realized that Baek Na-Kyum’s privileges were related to their first night: the lord’s visit in his study the next morning, he even lets deliver a potion for the hangover, the absence of new sex sessions, the invitation to the hunt and his protectiveness
. Since Yoon Seungho was expecting a picture of their Wedding night, the valet could only deduce the importance of the sexual encounter. He recognized that Yoon Seungho was already in love with the painter and he desired to get a picture of their night together. Nevertheless, we should recall that the butler was also present, when he heard the artist’s confession. (chapter 19) So he knew that the artist was in love with his teacher. As a conclusion, he was aware of the existence of the love triangle. And through the interrogation, he could fill all the blanks. He thought that he was the only one owning the truth, yet he was wrong. He could only judge Jung In-Hun, from what he saw. But more importantly, with this conversation, the valet got aware that the new painting Baek Na-Kyum had created was not representing their first night. 
That’s why I judge his advice to the painter in a new light. He refused to give any clue to Baek Na-Kyum, while the latter complained about his lack of insight. 
The butler was deliberately misleading the commoner. On the surface, it looks like he is saying that what happened that night, should be forgotten… Yet in truth, he means something else. He is speaking about himself. For Kim, it is a blessing that Baek Na-Kyum doesn’t remember and doesn’t know what happened, because he couldn’t profit of his “power” over the main lead. If he had remembered their night and had accepted the invitation, this meant that he was acknowledging the lord as his lover. This would signify that Kim’s position as the lord’s right-hand was threatened. The readers should remember that Kim’s power comes from the master’s genuine affection and closeness.
On the other hand, the butler can take advantage of the situation, a repetition of chapter 19. For the butler, ignorance is a blessing, because he still can change the actual situation. 
That’s why these words are exposing the valet’s hypocrisy. If the artist is left in the ignorance, then he can’t take Kim’s position or influence the main lead. Besides, his words could be judged as a warning: “lie low”, “remain out of his sight” signifies that Baek Na-Kyum is not allowed to get close to Yoon Seungho, because the butler will aim at him, making sure that he loses the master’s favor. As you can detect, Kim’s best advice contains so many layers, and shouldn’t be treated so lightly.
Striking is that after the painter’s admission, he leaves him. And there’s a reason for that. He has achieved his goal, he has gained a new insight about the actual situation. Baek Na-Kyum is now favored, because their night together left a deep impression on the noble, nonetheless he is clueless about the change. Furthermore, if the love triangle was revealed, and as such Yoon Seungho would get rejected, this would push the main character to cut ties with Baek Na-Kyum and the teacher. The servant definitely knew about the lord’s past tragedy: his suffering due to abandonment, rejection and jealousy. From my perspective, he decided to use the lord’s jealousy and insecurities to his benefit. That’s why he ensured to keep them alive. With his self-hatred, the lord would come to rely more on him.
And now, if you pay attention to the chapter 24, you’ll notice two important elements: the role played by valet Kim and the chronology is disrupted. Striking is that the butler announces that the lord desires to meet the painter at the pavilion in front of Jung In-Hun. 
This is relevant, since the latter was already very jealous of the artist. He had observed the lord and the commoner at the end of chapter 23 and felt unhappy. So Kim ensured that the scholar would hear this. Secondly, the manhwalovers can observe the absence of the butler’s eyes, when he expresses his emotions. 
For me, this is a signal that the valet is deceiving the scholar and the painter. And if we think carefully, then we can only come to the conclusion that the butler is lying again, when he claims that the lord is waiting for him at the pavilion. And now, you might come to the belief that I am suspecting the butler too much… However, I have different reasons to view his declarations as deceptions. Why?
- How can the lord be waiting for the artist at the pavilion, when they were returning together? I doubt that the lord would leave the whole group behind. Secondly, the artist and the teacher didn’t disappear for hours, only for 10 minutes. The lord hasn’t even changed his hunting clothes.
- Finally, we have to question the reason for the disruption of the chronology. We see the painter leaving the scholar’s side and following the butler through town
, then we have Baek Na-Kyum’s memories, where he is shown painting the scene with the masturbation, before witnessing Baek Na-Kyum on the ground trapped by Yoon Seungho. 
Why did Byeonduck utilize a time jump and a discontinuation of the chronology? Since there’s nothing random in her work, I believe that this disrupted chronology had a purpose. She never showed us the protagonists’ arrival at the pavilion. What caught my attention is the position of the bodies. If the lord had been waiting for the artist, then they should sit differently. Note that the noble is closer to the entrance of the pavilion than the painter. After the rape, the latter’s legs 
are facing the butler who stands at the entrance of the pavilion. 
This would explain why Baek Na-Kyum couldn’t flee at the pavilion, as the noble stood in the way. He could only just crawl away… A reversed situation of chapter 16. And this indicates that Yoon Seungho must have arrived after the low-born who was waiting for him at the pavilion. So this would indicate that Kim lied, when he invited the artist to follow him to the pavilion. - One might argue that Yoon Seungho’s emancipation occurred at the pavilion, therefore Kim must have just been following the order to send the painter there. Yet, the manhwalovers should recall that Jihwa was the one who invited the lord to the pavilion and not the reverse. If Jihwa had allowed him to enter his chamber, then the sex emancipation would have happened there. Yet, Jihwa sent the noble to the pavilion for one reason. He never expected the noble to have an erection and wanted to maintain a certain respectability. That’s why I am convinced that the words Kim said were not true. Besides, let’s not forget that his declarations shouldn’t be taken by face-value. Besides, we have again the absence of the eyes in the previous panel and the following picture shows the valet’s wrist, when he announces the invitation to the pavilion (reminding us of the observation that Byeonduck would never show the valet’s face, when he tells lies or manipulates). That’s why I see these elements as a clue that Kim has been acting as a puppet master in the rape at the pavilion.
- Besides, the lord knew about the painter’s shyness concerning his painting. He knew that he had brought it with him during the hunt, because he felt embarrassed. And he had been protective and caring so far. He had no reason to become rude towards Baek Na-Kyum, who had even accepted his invitation for the hunt. He had also seen, how an opened door scared him so much that he fled from his embrace. A pavilion would never be the appropriate place for the painter to reveal his picture. Therefore I believe that Kim was the one who told the lord that Baek Na-Kyum was waiting for him at the pavilion. In the noble’s mind, it was a reasonable suggestion, because that way the low-born would protect himself from the lord’s advances, since it was in the open.
- One might question about the butler’s motive for such a suggestion? What would he gain by creating a encounter at the pavilion? He desired a witness, the teacher Jung In-Hun. For Kim, it didn’t truly matter what would happen there. Either the scholar would choose to intervene or he would remain silent… yet he would see the main lead’s in his rage, making him realize how dangerous and instable the protagonist was. First, he had seen the low aristocrat strolling with the artist at the pavilion (lie from chapter 11). So he knew that the scholar was aware of the location of the pavilion. Secondly, the pavilion allowed him to see the event, while in the lord’s bedchamber, the scholar would have never been able to see or to react to the situation. Kim had different reasons for assuming that the low noble would follow the invitation. He must have witnessed how Jung In-Hun would stare at Baek Na-Kyum during the hunt, which could have been perceived as sign of jealousy. For the butler, Jung In-Hun didn’t like the closeness between the noble and his “loved one”. Kim misinterpreted the root of the scholar’s resent. Since Kim was aware of the painter’s affection for Jung In-Hun, he imagined that the scholar would be disgusted and jealous, if he definitely witnessed the lord’s affection for the painter. As the noble had always been smiling and caring towards the artist, Kim assumed, exactly like Heena noona, that the teacher was infatuated with the low-born. From my point of view, Kim desired to recreate a similar situation from the past, where Yoon Seungho would experience rejection. Remember that we saw the lord’s memories in chapter 55, where he felt abandonment and huge jealousy making him feel enraged. In Kim’s mind, the noble would feel insecure with the rejection, therefore he would turn into a beast. Remember what I wrote before: the lord had been protecting the painter (from 12 to 22), so Kim’s last resort was to use the master himself as his pawn in order to get rid of the painter and the scholar. Besides, we shouldn’t forget that at the pavilion, Baek Na-Kyum was forced to confess his love for the scholar in front of Yoon Seungho. This is exactly what Kim had intended and even imagined that the teacher would react and protect the painter. With this incident, the painter would decide to leave the mansion with his “master”, Jung In-Hun. However, the butler never expected that the lord would still claim the painter as his and wouldn’t accept the situation. I even envisage that Kim had predicted the artist’s death. If it happened, the lord had no longer any reason to sponsor the teacher. In my opinion, Kim misjudged the low noble’s hypocrisy. Hence he didn’t anticipate that Jung In-Hun would remain passive and silent, because the man needed Baek Na-Kyum as the lord’s lover. He wanted the low-born to be a spy. I have always claimed that Jung In-Hun witnessed the rape (chapter 29), but chose to feign ignorance, since it didn’t serve his interests. Therefore I perceive the panel where Kim announces the invitation to the low-born in front of Jung In-Hun as an evidence for my theory. Kim let it transpire to incite the scholar to go to the pavilion.
And observe in chapter 25 that after faking his concern for Yoon Seungho by pointing out the scar, Kim asks his lord the painter’s whereabouts. 
Why? From my perspective, Kim was expecting something and by faking concern for the artist, he would like to know the outcome of the encounter at the pavilion. I have to admit that I can no longer sense genuineness in the butler’s words. Striking is the idiom he employs: “that … painter”. He doesn’t give him any name, a real identity. His words are quite similar to Min’s expression “low-born”. In my eyes, the innocent protagonist is perceived as a function and as such an object or subject. With the painter ‘s absence and the lord’s reaction, he gets aware that something happened, exactly what he desired. In my opinion, he is already envisioning that he has achieved his goal. The drop of sweat is just a sign of discomfort, because once again, there was a ruckus, but it was necessary for his own interest, his tranquil life. The only difference is that with his question, he infuriates the main character, which must have been totally new for the valet. 
Moreover, when he says this 
, the readers (including myself) thought, he expressed concern and felt pity. But who is talking to in reality? Baek Na-Kyum is still far away from him, hence I doubt that these words were addressed to him. Furthermore, the butler has again no eye. That’s why I have now the impression that “oh dear” could have been addressed to himself. Now, he needs to clean up the mess. In other words, he feels pity for himself. Since he stands far away, he must see the body on the ground, so for me it looks like he imagined that the artist was dead. But to his surprise, when he gets closer to Baek Na-Kyum, he recognizes that the artist is still alive. Striking is his next comment: Now, he knows why the noble brought the horse. The main lead felt concern for the artist, so he was considerate enough to spare Baek Na-Kyum from moving too much. After detecting the valet’s hypocrisy, I could only sense coldness and indifference in this picture. The gaze is cold and at no moment, he talks directly to Baek Na-Kyum. His words are only centered on him and the noble (“I”, “me”, “he”). Besides, even if his eyebrows indicate a certain concern, it doesn’t necessarily mean that his worries are related to the painter, rather to himself. And the scholar had not even fled the mansion, which the valet must have noticed, since he was wandering around with the lamp. So in the end, Kim’s manipulation had failed once again. And if you consider that in chapter 35, he tries again to motivate Yoon Seungho to kill the painter out of jealousy, it becomes understandable why I believe that Kim had already envisaged his death before. Since the main lead had always been protective, he needed to trigger the lord’s rage caused by abandonment and rejection so that the main lead would turn into the weapon to hurt Baek Na-Kyum. Yet, it never happened like he desired. Each time, Yoon Seungho’s violent mood changed him into a sex monster, unwilling to get separated from the low-born. And now, you understand why I perceive the following butler’s words in a new light: Since each tentative to get rid of Baek Na-Kyum through the lord has always failed (chapter 11, 25, 34, 35, 36 and 61/62 – this one I will explain it later), Kim’s last remark gets a new signification. Here, he makes a statement, he is realizing that he can no longer utilize the main lead like in the past, the lord with his violent mood swings is no longer obeying him. Back then, many readers had the impression that the valet was telling a lie in order to diminish his guilt and responsibility (self-deception). But what if he was telling the truth in reality and was not trying to deceive himself? I would like to point out that in the previous picture, the butler is shown with his eyes and ears indicating that he is no longer closing his eyes to the truth and reality. Moreover, note in this scene, he is reminded of the past, when he abandoned the main lead to his misery, which leads him to the following conclusion. If the painter remains a favored servant, then everything is fine. The artist never abused his position or truly threatened him. So his privileged situation wouldn’t truly change, if Baek Na-Kyum was a “concubine”. However, while he is on the verge to abandon his plan to remove the artist from Yoon Seungho’s side, Heena noona causes a ruckus, which makes the valet change his mind once again. Observe the contrast: the closer he gets to reality and accept it, the closer the zooming on his face. So in the last panel, Kim is facing the truth and facts. Yet in the end, he is forced to correct his judgement, as there is another trouble. But what Kim fails to recognize is that there’s no life without worry and problems. As you can see, the chapter 65 is a new version of chapter 35… however this time, Kim is the one on the verge of giving up on his original plan: remove the artist from Yoon Seungho’s side.
Another point for this theory that Kim is a villain and a mastermind using people for his own happiness (leading a life without trouble) is that each time, Kim had to clean up the mess afterwards. The irony is that Yoon Seungho is unaware of this.
- the ruined painting: he has to put himself the ointment on the painter. Yoon Seungho forces him to see the consequences of his lies and silence.
- (chapter 17/18) Jihwa’s trespassing and mistreating Baek Na-Kyum: Yoon Seungho orders Kim to bring the second lead to the door and evict the amateur spy.
- chapter 19: Yoon Seungho gets to discover love in the painter, since the latter gets drunk and reveals his feelings. Kim has to hear that confession and he is left behind.
- Then when he asks the servant Kim to pick up the low-born at the pavilion. and later, when he takes care of Baek Na-Kyum, the latter confronts him with his lie. He knew about the sexual encounter and chose to remain silent. So he is once again forced to face reality and recognize his misdeed. However, the butler decides to run away.
- In chapter 30, the butler receives a punch
for allowing the painter’s escape. And because of his intervention, Yoon Seungho felt even more insecure than before, which explains why he had a sex marathon. In his mind, the artist had to accept his sexuality and as such him as his lover thereby he would remain by his side. That’s why Kim had in the end to take care of the exhausted painter. The sex marathon was a direct consequence of the rape and desertion involving Kim. - In chapter 36, Kim gave the painter’s aphrodisiac and this led Kim to lie to Yoon Seungwon. Therefore he got scolded.
I could add the list of the punishments Kim received for his lies and manipulations. It was definitely his karma, reflecting his own flaw. Kim is a person who is trying to escape from reality by closing his eyes and ears, with the belief that uproar and problems stands in opposition to a good and peaceful life. And the conclusion is that there’s no redemption for the valet. The latter chose to keep his original plan, as Baek Na-Kyum has become a synonym for worry and scandal in his eyes. That’s why I am more than ever convinced that he will participate in the next kidnapping and unlike in the past, he won’t just be a manipulator and mastermind, but a real perpetrator. And my final observation is the following: since Kim manipulated the situation in chapter 24/25, the readers have to question the butler’s responsibility in the rape. Kim could have revealed the truth to the main leads, but he chose not. This shows that Kim never acted like a father or a true advisor and allowed the situation to escalate. And it is the same for the teacher who witnessed the violence and decided to feign ignorance. As you can see, the whole situation is far more complex than it looks like.
I still have more to say about Kim… Therefore there will be a part 3.
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and the support.
Painter Of The night: Kim’s power (part 1)
This is where you can read the manhwa. https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/painter But be aware that this manhwa is a mature Yaoi, which means, it is about homosexuality with explicit scenes.
I am well aware that some readers will be upset, if they read this essay, especially Kim’s stans. However, I can no longer postpone this topic, a real portray of the so-called “loyal valet”. I have to admit that Byeonduck even deceived me, as I let my first impressions about the butler misinterpret his past actions. For example, I had determined that Kim had helped the painter to escape in chapter 29. I had explained his behavior by writing that he felt sorry for him or he gave the artist the aphrodisiac in order to make his lord happy. He had realized the master’s affection for the painter. Yet, this was my wishful thinking in truth. Kim had other reasons to act like that, which I only recognized around chapter 62. This made me realize that I had been blind to the truth for a long time, because I had paid too much attention to the pictures concerning him and his words. It signifies that I trusted too much my eyes. From my point of view, the author of Painter Of The Night desires us to see the story with our mind and not only our eyes. The Greek philosopher Plato wrote that “noesis”, the Greek expression for insight, was the highest kind of knowing. With this description, he meant that the mind saw what was true. And we have a scene referring to this type of knowledge: 
As you can detect, knowledge is linked to sight. That’s why when a person employs the following idiom “I see”, she or he indicates that the person knows and understands. However, we need to see the butler’s behavior with our mind’s eyes and not only our eyes. With this new perspective, it becomes important to examine the valet’s actions beyond the pictures Byeonduck presented to the readers in order to have a real insight about Kim. What is his true personality in reality? He appears kind and gentle, therefore the readers judged him as such. However, this is not the truth and the topic of this essay will be to destroy the myth about Kim as a hero. And in order to achieve this goal, it is important to review all his actions and words from the start.
If we consider the formal aspects, we will notice that Kim is introduced in the same chapter than Jung In-Hun’s arrival at the mansion.
That’s his first introduction. I doubt that this is a coincidence. As I have already described the scholar as a villain, this can be viewed a first evidence for this theory. Secondly, if we count the number of chapters (2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 29, 30, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 44) where Jung In-Hun appears, you’ll notice that Kim has the exact same number: 20 (7, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 44). One might argue that Kim has been developed to contrast to Jung In-Hun, yet this is not possible, as the valet often lies (f. ex. episode 11, 12, 29, 34, 35, 44, 67, 68), exactly like the teacher. Nevertheless, I am well aware that these exterior aspects might not be not convincing enough.
Let me elaborate why I believe that Kim isn’t only an antagonist in Painter Of The Night, but also a villain. But before bringing up all the points, I need to define the nature of an antagonist and a villain.
“In literature, an antagonist is a character, or a group of characters, which stands in opposition to the Protagonist, which is the main character. […] ” quoted from https://literarydevices.net/antagonist/
This definition points out that the antagonist hinders the protagonist to achieve his goal, hence he creates conflicts for the protagonist. He can be a villain, but not necessarily. He can be just a competitor and rival. And note that in my last analysis (“The slaps in the kaleidoscope”), I had described Kim as a rival to the painter. The latter was slowly taking away the power Kim had over the powerful noble. At the end of chapter 66, Yoon Seungho is submitting himself to the artist’s authority. But I could also use the confrontation Kim had with Yoon Seungho as illustration in chapter 68. The butler used his knowledge to literally destroy the lord’s confidence and power. He portrayed him as a bad and cruel person who made a false judgement and was even wayward in his youth. 
At no moment, he gave a real advice to the protagonist, contributing to his lord’s growth and improving his behavior. But one might argue that everything is linked to the valet’s position. He is just a domestic. Yet, he had disobeyed his master’s order showing a certain confidence. And his disregard for his master was already visible on different occasions, like in chapter 33 or chapter 56 
. He brought the artist to the physician without his master’s permission. Back then, many like myself overlooked his infraction, because it seemed like it was for the artist’s sake. However, the readers should remember that the physician was called to the lord’s property in the past. So why bring the painter to the doctor’s office? And let’s remember that in the past Yoon Seungho visited the doctor’s office in order to get drugged. Back then, the main lead became a victim of drug. As you can observe, Kim’s actions should be judged with the mind’s eye and not with just with the heart or the eye. Besides, the butler’s attitude towards the main lead revealed a certain confidence to use knowledge and lies to manipulate Yoon Seungho. So maybe Kim represents a certain hindrance to the two protagonists, but to describe him as a villain, some readers will question this interpretation.
“A villain is the bad guy, the one who comes up with diabolical plots to somehow cause harm or ruin. It is one of the archetype characters in many stories. The villain may truly believe that he/she is helping society, but causes harm in the process.” quoted from https://literaryterms.net/villain/
On the surface, it looks like a villain is a bad person. Yet this is not correct, it is not complete. The definition portrays the villain mainly as a scheming person who believes that his actions are right, because he has a good justification. However, his words and actions have a negative impact on the protagonists. “Schemes and causing harm” stand in the center of this definition and not if the villain acts badly so obviously. In other words, the villain is not necessarily an evil or brutal person, as long as the person legitimates his actions. Furthermore, there are different types of villains:
- Traitor: This villain betrays the ones who trusted him or her.
- Patriarch/Matriarch: These warped villains see themselves as the head of the family or group.
- Tyrant: This villainous leader takes no guff from anyone – do as you’re told or pay the price.
- Devil: True evil at its worst, the devil villain has no good side.
- Schemer: This villain loves making diabolical plans and carrying them out.
- Lunatic: Just plain crazy, this villain may not have any real motivation but the crazy conspiracies he or she “sees.” quoted from https://literaryterms.net/villain/ (I didn’t list all the different kind of villains)
After reading these different descriptions, the readers recognize that Min resembles to the Schemer and Devil, while father Yoon looks more like a patriarch. I would like to remind that Min justifies his schemes with his urges for the painter and his desire for entertainment. Nevertheless, the first type is often overlooked, the traitor. From my point of view, Kim represents the first type, because he has already backstabbed his master on multiple occasions. I could mention Kim’s betrayal towards Yoon Seungho in chapter 65. Here, he heard and saw something,
but decided to turn a blind eye and abandoned the young boy. He allowed the young master to get assaulted and chose not to intervene, because he dislikes the idea of trouble so much. His real desire is to lead a peaceful life. Arguing that he feared for his life can also be refuted. If the butler had intervened immediately, then father Yoon would have believed him. Father Yoon trusts the valet so much that he followed Kim who recommended him the physician. So he had the valet’s trust. However, it became a different story, if Yoon Seungho had revealed the truth and accused the butler for abandoning him. In my opinion, he didn’t want to get in the way of a noble hurting the main lead, therefore he became an accomplice. He had to hide his wrongdoings. And in order to ease his conscience, he justifies his passivity and inaction with the following motto: Since it doesn’t concern his life, then he doesn’t need to care. But one might refute my argumentation that Kim only made a mistake once. However, let’s not forget that there’s another main lead in this manhwa: Baek Na-Kyum. Kim betrayed him in chapter 11, by letting take the fall for the damaged painting. Like I had already exposed in a previous analysis, Kim lied to his master in chapter 11: 
In fact, Baek Na-Kyum had left the room for a stroll. And with his two lies in chapter 11
, he allowed the painter to get hurt and punished unfairly. In other words, he caused harm not only to Yoon Seungho, but also to Baek Na-Kyum. What caught my attention is the absence of the eye in the first picture. First, one might think that this aspect is an indication that the servant is trying to hide his true thoughts. However, I would even add another dimension. The absence of the valet’s eyes displays his leitmotiv: turning a blind eye. But there’s more to it. The absence of his eyes mirrors his desire to ignore the consequences of his actions. Therefore he keeps running away (chapter 64) 
(chapter 67) in order to avoid any confrontation. Furthermore he avoids peoples’ gaze and questions (see the picture from chapter 67) 
(chapter 63). Note that in this scene (last image), before leaving, he never answers to the maids’ question corresponding to the missing ears in the following picture: He is also turning a deaf ear. That’s other Kim’s MO. He is deliberately closing his eyes and ears to reality and truth, so that he doesn’t need to feel guilty. With this attitude, he doesn’t want to feel burdened and responsible for his actions. And he prefers letting others take the blame. Yet, this doesn’t mean that he doesn’t use his senses like Jihwa, it is quite the opposite. He utilizes his senses in order to get knowledge, as he has already recognized that insight can help him to live a quiet life. That’s why he is described as perceptive by Yoon Seungho in chapter 23.
Then one might refute that he only hurt the protagonists once, he can’t be a villain. Besides, he never intended the main leads to get hurt, he just feared to get punished. However, this is just an illusion. In reality, if you pay attention to the butler’s actions, you can actually witness Kim’s true power which is based on manipulations and drugs. In my opinion, he is a puppet master hiding in the shadow and the pawns have no idea that they have been masterminded by a “kind” valet. Now, you are wondering how?
What caught my attention is the medication that Yoon Seungho has been fed since his teens. 
In chapter 57, even the doctor questioned the lord’s illness, yet he still gave him the medicine without a real diagnosis, because father Yoon would talk to him, until the latter gave in. 
Besides, Kim decided to continue feeding him after the abandonment, and it was never questioned by the doctor. The latter only heard through Kim that Yoon Seungho had started getting seriously sick.
The readers should recall that the doctor only examined the lord twice, the second time it happened many years later. The doctor has never been able to define the illness the main lead was suffering. And note that the doctor pointed out that before the lord wasn’t known as hot-tempered. 
That’s why I believe that the drug is the cause for Yoon Seungho’s mood swings and impulsive behavior. Sure, there exist other causes, the different traumas the lord experienced. And from my perspective, the connection between the violence and the drug is visible, if you think carefully about the return of the lord’s violent and impulsive attitude from chapter 61 on. 
It coincides with his stay at the physician’s. For me, there’s no coincidence in this story. Since the story is repeating itself, the author revealed that after the visitation, Yoon Seungho as a teen started receiving the medication affecting his mood. For he went to the doctor’s in chapter 57, it means that the physician must have given him some medicine after the disappearance of the painter. And let’s not forget his words in chapter 55: The man recommended Kim to give him the tea. Now, due to the physician’s words, which Baek Na-Kyum clearly heard
, Kim has a reason to feed him the drug again. He is just following the doctor’s prescription and note that Kim has the painter as a witness. This panel is relevant, as it exposes that the lord refused to take the tonic before. His reason was simple: he slept better. In my opinion, we have to envisage that Kim would use the doctor’s innocence to justify his action, if he was caught giving the drug. Furthermore, the master was at the doctor’s, hence the former would trust his recommendation and his tea. Hence I believe that the lord got drugged after that night explaining his relapse (violent temper). Since we know that this story is built as a kaleidoscope, it means that this medication was mentioned in season 1. It first appears in chapter 35, and the lord declined the “medicinal tea”, a reflection of chapter 55. But the readers have to envision that Yoon Seungho had already stopped drinking the potion even before chapter 35. Let’s not forget that the main lead was away for many days, hopping from one bedchamber to the next.
Consequently, he couldn’t take the drug. And after Baek Na-Kyum became the lord’s lover, the latter had no reason to drink the medicinal tea. First, thanks to the low-born, the noble had been able to get some sleep. Observe how refreshed he looks the next morning after spending a night with the painter. Later he was busy having sex with Baek Na-Kyum and could sleep better, like Kim described it in chapter 55. One might argue that Kim is doing for the lord’s sake, but then the manhwaphiles should question truly his intentions, as he gave an aphrodisiac to the painter against his will in chapter 36. The purpose for his action was simple: he intended to use the artist as the new sex toy for the master, so that Yoon Seungho would be busy with sex and forget the outside world. And the artist didn’t want to take it either. There’s no real legitimation to drug someone, the goal doesn’t justify the means. Besides, giving the wrong medication to someone who is not sick can never be good. It can definitely make someone sick, and the manhwaworms should recognize that the doctor could never truly diagnose the lord’s illness. He created the medicine based on the father’s desires and suggestions. Yet, at no moment, Kim stopped the treatment, although he knows that father Yoon was a cruel man, like he revealed in chapter 68. Therefore I judge Kim as a real dangerous person, because he drugs people and uses people’s innocence. I doubt that the physician is aware that he has been used by father Yoon and later by Kim. The clue for his innocence is palpable because of his testimony to the painter. He is not hiding anything, he reveals the past to the artist, since he knows the relationship between the two protagonists. However, like I have already explained it, the doctor’s revelations will help to uncover the truth. One might still argue that Kim is just doing what father Yoon told him. He is still loyal to the eldest master. So he is not responsible for the drugs. I could just argue that father Yoon never gave him the permission to drug the painter, Kim made the decision on his own and no one asked him to do so. Besides, he works as Yoon Seungho’s butler and not father Yoon’s, therefore we can definitely describe him as a traitor, since he drugs the main lead and we have to imagine that Yoon Seungho must have refused it in the past as well. So once the father abandoned his son, Kim could have stopped with the medication.
And let’s turn our attention to my second point: the butler’s manipulations, symbolizing that Kim is indeed a villain. In order to validate my theory, it is necessary to examine all the butler’s words and actions. Like I had already mentioned in a previous chapter, Kim lied in chapter 11 with a certain intention. My first reaction was to say that he didn’t want to take the blame for the second lead’s misdeed. However, I believe that there’s more to it. Observe the way he lies. He notices the lord’s good mood, and he suggests the noble to visit the painter in his study by saying that the painter spent the whole day. With his words, he implies that the painter has been dedicated towards Yoon Seungho and he must be tired, the first version of the following panel from chapter 41. 
That way, the noble would discover the ruined painting. He anticipated that the noble would like to go to the painter with his suggestion, since he knows that the lord is a goodhearted man in reality. 
He orchestrated the whole situation, he knew that the lord would have a mood swing and his rage would target the painter. That’s why he hid behind the door 
, so that he wouldn’t be confronted with the consequences of his lie and manipulations. Like I demonstrated it before, there’s no doubt that Kim had seen Jihwa’s arrival and had chosen to close his eyes. From my point of view, the butler had already judged the painter as a source of trouble and desired to get rid of him. Why?
My theory is the following: Kim is actually working as a spy. Since he has only been loyal to himself, I suspect that Kim has been working behind Yoon Seungho’s back for several people. His motivation was never money or power, rather leading a tranquil life without any trouble and struggle. However, this mentality led him to the dark side. I believe that the starting point was the protagonist’s abuse in the storage room. After his silence and passivity, he was bound by secrecy. It is definitely possible that he has been blackmailed too, the older version Deok-Jae’s thread. In my opinion, it is lord Song, but this is now only a supposition. First, I discovered that Kim was able to read and as such write. 
If I complete Kim’s sentence, we have this: Lord Song is not one to write to my master. Then to whom is lord Song supposed to write? I doubt that Kim is aware of lord Song’s mail contacts, since the valet lives in that mansion the whole time. The logical deduction is to say that the valet has been in touch with lord Song. Besides, another evidence for Kim’s hidden abilities is the painter. Remember how I described the artist as the positive reflection of Kim. Since Baek Na-Kyum was supposed to be literate and the lord discovered that it was not true, Kim as the low-born’s negative reflection is supposed to be illiterate, while in reality he can read and write. Moreover, if you pay attention to Kim’s reaction in chapter 56, when he hears that lord Song desires to meet the main lead at the tavern, Kim gets scared. Back then, many imagined that the butler’s fear was related to Yoon Seungho’s past and he felt concerned for the master. Yet, he got scared twice. The second time, the master was not present and Kim was definitely frightened. Finally, note how he tries to suggest to his master to postpone the meeting due to his illness. It sounds reasonable and legitimate, yet if you think that Kim is a spy, he has a motive to make sure that both don’t encounter. That’s why he abandoned Baek Na-Kyum at the physician’s and rushed to the lord’s side. He was scared that Yoon Seungho would discover the truth. Once he saw Jihwa there, he felt relieved and faked concern. That’s why he said this to the doctor: 
He definitely expressed relief here and notice, he hides his eyes again, a sign that he is hiding his true thoughts, but also avoiding to face the consequences of all his lies and manipulations. Besides, I couldn’t help myself thinking about Yoon Seungho’s comment in chapter 18: 
The amateur spy got discovered, because he showed true concern for Jihwa. So what if we had a professional spy, the reflection of the amateur spy? As such he is a puppet master who can deceive people due to his acting skills. Now, you can comprehend why for me, Kim is a villain, a traitor. He is always perceived as kind, gentle and genuine, yet the truth is different. His thoughts exposed his selfishness and dishonesty towards the painter and the master.
And now, it is time to return our attention to the reasons for Kim’s manipulation in chapter 11. Let’s not forget the circumstances that led to Jihwa’s revenge. In chapter 8, Yoon Seungho had humiliated a noble and even grabbed him by the topknot creating a scandal, 
something Kim abhors the most. And this was caused by the low-born’s presence. And we have to imagine that Kim must have been staying in the background and saw the scene, a repetition from chapter 33. So with such a humiliation, Kim could only object to the lord’s attitude and consider the painter as the source of trouble and danger. However, if my theory about Kim as a spy is correct, we shouldn’t forget that Jung In-Hun had just arrived at the mansion, and the scholar must have told Kim about the reasons for his stay here: the lord desires to sponsor him and give him a high position. Since Jung In-Hun is arrogant and likes admiration, I doubt that he hid it from the butler. So Kim has a bigger cause to get rid of the painter. If Yoon Seungho has connections to the government, he can become dangerous. Since the latter has an affection to the teacher, which Kim witnessed, he must have recognized that his sponsorship is related Baek Na-Kyum. So when he viewed Jihwa’s arrival in chapter 10, he knew what would happen, and saw it as an opportunity to get rid of the painter and indirectly the teacher. That’s why he tricked the main lead to pay a visit to the artist, by portraying the low-born as a hardworking painter. Besides, we also have to envision that he knew that Jihwa had hired one of the servants from his staff. Since his policy is to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear in the sake of his “peace”, he had no reason to intervene. At the same time, since he knew that the teacher was the artist’s alibi, the other possible outcome was that Jung In-Hun intervenes so that a quarrel between the two nobles begins leading to the end of the sponsorship. However, the artist chose to remain silent and the scholar didn’t show any interest for Baek Na-Kyum. Anyway, Kim could only win with such an action: either Jung In-Hun chose to cut ties with the main lead for mistreating the commoner or Baek Na-Kyum decides to leave the mansion after such a punishment. That’s why Kim allowed the amateur spy to leave the mansion and announced that the lord had chosen the straw mat beating as punishment. 
However, the manhwalovers have to envision that Kim never revealed his knowledge. He must have just given the servant the permission to leave the property without his master’s knowledge. Consequently, the hired spy had no idea that he had been used as a pawn by Kim. For the latter, it was important that no one would notice his manipulation. He only had to fake ignorance and kindness, while in reality he was utilizing his eyes and ears. By using the amateur spy, Jihwa had no idea about the butler’s involvement. That way, no one would realize that there was a puppet master behind them. At the same time, I also believe that the butler anticipated the childhood friend’s intervention. And let’s not forget that Kim is the only one who knows Jihwa since his childhood. He witnessed their separation, therefore he already envisaged that the red-haired noble would target the artist, like he did in the past. 
In other words, Kim has always utilized Jihwa in order to isolate the lord and hinder him to focus on someone else for too long. Kim had already imagined that the painter would get punished severely and the scholar who seemed so affectionate towards the artist, would decide to cut ties with the lord. Who would like to be seen with such a violent sodomite? 
From my perspective, that’s the reason why Byeonduck chose to introduce the butler in chapter 7. The teacher’s goal stands in opposition to Kim’s. As long as the lord is busy with sex and debauchery, Kim can lead a peaceful life and his misdeeds can never get discovered. And all the persons responsible for his misery in his youth, like lord Song, don’t need to fear any revenge. However, nothing worked like the valet had envisioned, because neither the painter nor the master reacted like he had anticipated.
What caught my attention is that in chapter 12, the amateur spy appears twice. Not only he goes to the tavern to tip off Jihwa, but also he is the one who announces the red-haired noble’s arrival. This is no coincidence. 
Since Kim knew about his true relationship with Jihwa, he knew that the red-aristocrat would question the domestic and vent his anger at him. Furthermore, Kim suggests the painter to make a walk 
which led the second lead to notice that his plan had failed. This also indicates that Kim witnessed the painter taking a walk with the teacher. And striking is that when Yoon Seungho saw the painter, he asked him, if he was trying to run away. 
We can definitely question if this was not the butler’s original plan, especially when the readers recall that Kim witnessed the painter’s behavior in chapter 11. He talked back to Yoon Seungho and even refused to submit to Yoon Seungho’s authority first. So maybe when Kim took care of the painter, Kim hoped that if he said that he would have to resign and accept his fate, these words would have the opposite effect, the artist would choose to leave the mansion after witnessing his mentality. One thing is sure: Kim was in the background all the time and knew what was going on. And this is reflected in chapter 17. The valet refuses to intervene and has even allowed Jihwa to enter the mansion without any invitation. Let’s not forget that in chapter 17, we have the same constellation of characters than in chapter 12: the amateur spy following the second lead, Yoon Seungho in his bed, valet Kim in the background and the painter. The only change is the apparition of the head-maid of the kitchen. For me, he was definitely an silent accomplice, who tried to stop Yoon Seungho from intervening and causing another trouble. With this new perception, it would explain why Yoon Seungho and Jihwa maintained their relationship despite its toxicity. Kim could use the noble to get rid of any thread, without causing any big trouble. And if there was a huge incident (like Jihwa’s topknot incident), then this would be swayed under the rug, because Jihwa was always willing to overlook Yoon Seungho’s retaliation.
Furthermore I think, Kim expected Jihwa’s return after his success and if he met the painter, he would see that his plan had failed. Note that in that moment, the childhood friend tried to suggest his friend to get rid of the artist by hiring a painter from the Royal Academy.
Observe that despite the sex session with Jihwa, the latter had lost the fight against the painter. He was even sent away and the host didn’t pay attention to him at the end. However, during that same night, Kim got himself tricked by Deok-Jae, something he hadn’t expected. And that’s the moment the butler realized that he could use the guardian as his second pawn. That’s how Deok-Jae took over the role from the amateur spy and helped Kim in his attempt to separate the artist from the noble: chapter 29/30. But since the vicious servant got betrayed, because Kim abandoned him and let him suffer the most, Deok-Jae could only act on his own. He tried to steal the red dresser, he sabotaged the rice, and finally he even ransacked the study and hurt the artist causing so much trouble to Kim that he could only ask him to disappear. Nevertheless, I would like to remind that the moment when the amateur spy reveals his complicity in chapter 18, he doesn’t even deny or try to put the blame on the valet. This shows that he has no idea that Kim knew about his role. Kim has always been able to survive thanks to this philosophy: IGNORANCE IS A BLESSING.
Then in chapter 19, there is another crime committed: the theft of the expensive wine. Back then, everyone was convinced that the painter was the thief, because we saw him with the bottle. However, Baek Na-Kyum is supposed to be a pure person who wouldn’t commit a crime. So the protagonist is not only a liar but also a theft, no one was upset. But now, if you perceive this incident in a different perspective, Kim is a manipulator, he created the incident so that Baek Na-Kyum would get caught. This time, no one would speak for him. Surprising is that Kim is again portrayed eyeless. 
For me, a sign that he saw what happened: the painter was the criminal. People would think that he was covering up for the painter, yet if you look at Min’s reaction after hearing the butler’s words, you’ll realize that Min is asking for blood. Striking is that in chapter 19, we have elements from chapter 11:
- Kim without eyes and who feigns ignorance
- Kim is also asked as witness
- A lord in a good mood. That’s why he went to the brothel to eat with Min and two other nobles, the first version of chapter 52-53-54.
- A crime: the disappearance of the bottle
Since it is a new version of chapter 11 and I had explained that Kim had orchestrated the first punishment, so the logical consequence would be that Kim tried to recreate a similar situation. Besides, just before, the lord had cut ties with Jihwa, hence Kim could no longer use him like in the past. But what if Kim left the bottle on purpose so that the artist would take it? Let’s not forget that during that night, Yoon Seungho witnessed the quarrel between Jung In-Hun and Baek Na-Kyum, therefore it is definitely possible that Kim could have witnessed it as well. Just because we didn’t see it, this doesn’t signify that this didn’t exist. Realizing the painter’s sadness, the butler could have anticipated the painter’s next move. And when he revealed the crime to the guests, he desired to use Min’s anger and request to have the painter punished, even killed. This time, the lord wouldn’t be able to change his mind and show remorse. However, once again his plan didn’t work out, because the lord covered up himself the misdeed of the painter. For me, there’s no doubt that the absence of Kim’s eyes are a signal that Kim is up to something. With this new interpretation, I come to the following conclusion that chapter 67-68 are the new version of chapter 19. Kim and Min are already working together and both are determined to use Jihwa once again, like they did in the first season. Yet back then, Min had no idea that he was used by the humble valet.
But if Kim has already planned the painter’s rape and murder in the second season, then this signifies that he must have done in the first season, as history repeats itself. And he actually did it, which no one noticed before, including me. However, his plan didn’t work out so that we can definitely predict the butler’s failure.
Thanks to Luzy’s observation, I came to this realization. It all started with her notice that Kim lied in chapter 34. When Baek Na-Kyum gets sick after the sex marathon, he brings himself the painter back to the study, even clean him. Observe that the doctor is in the painter’s room, when he examines the low-born. Then in chapter 34, the head-maid declares that the painter has been sick for 4 days and observe that the painter is still lying in his bed. 
Then, when the artist wakes up, he discovers that he is in the lord’s bed. He assumes that the lord left him behind after the sex session, that’s why he remembers the sex marathon. However, Kim deceives the artist by portraying the lord in a good light: He brought himself to his bed, because it is the warmest room.
However, Kim announces him that the painter has been sick for 10 days 
and the lord has been hopping from one bedchamber to the next. So how can he have brought the painter to his bedchamber during these 10 days, if he was away? Besides, how is he supposed to have brought the painter to his bed, if he was already in the bed after the sex marathon? In my opinion, the valet had chosen to turn Baek Na-Kyum into a favored servant and placed the painter in the master’s bed. If the latter chose to become the master’s lover, then the lord would have no interest in keeping sponsoring Jung In-Hun. Now, he needed to separate the two. Besides, he knew that at some point, the lord would return. That’s why Yoon Seungho was surprised, when he arrived in his room. He tried to hide it by showing a rather indifferent expression. Yet, Kim’s machination failed. The butler never imagined that Baek Na-Kyum would leave the room and Yoon Seungho would agree to it. We have to imagine that the poor boy had just recovered, so if the main lead had ignored the painter’s condition, the new sex session could have led to the painter’s exhaustion and death. That’s why I can’t perceive Kim’s trick as a favor for the main lead. Yet, both protagonists in their innocence defeated the butler’s plan. And note that the valet lies again the next morning. He announces his arrival with the excuse, he is bringing his meal: But where is the meal? Read the chapter 35 again, you don’t see anything like that at all. Besides, pay attention to the valet’s reaction, when he opens the door: he is feeling uncomfortable, as if he was expecting something. He imagined to see the painter there with the lord, maybe dead… But no, his master is alone and didn’t sleep the whole night. He had reasons for that. He must have wondered why the painter was in his bed, but then he left him in order to let him rest. Then what caught my attention is that the valet opens the two windows,
although the lord is not even dressed. He doesn’t even hurry to bring him the hanbok and later he even comments, it is cold. Note that here again, the domestic is without eyes again. From my point of view, he saw the painter strolling in the courtyard and meeting the scholar, therefore he opened the two windows so that the lord would feel the need to come closer to the window and witness the scene. Since there’s no ambiguity that Kim witnessed how the lord took the sword during the night of the rape, and tried to kill the teacher, he recognized the lord’s jealousy. Therefore, he imagined if he saw the painter with the scholar, he would get so resentful that he would grab his sword and kill the painter in affect. 
Notice that at no moment Kim intervened, although he was by the lord’s side, when he saw this. He literally vanished and only reappeared, after the situation had called down. The lord had not killed the artist. He even brought the fake letter from father Yoon, an excuse for his disappearance and at the same time a diversion. That’s why the artist was given the aphrodisiac right after. The painter needed to become the lord’s favored servant. If he remained loyal to Yoon Seungho, the latter would have no longer any interest in the teacher’s support. And since I judged the incident with the sword in chapter 35 as an attempt on the painter’s life masterminded by Kim, there’s no ambiguity that his participation in the second murder attempt will surface. However, this time it will become visible, because the puppet master lost his pawns one by one (the amateur spy, Jihwa, Deok-Jae). He can only use the second lead through Min that’s why he was included. Under this different approach, Jihwa’s crimes are relativized and it becomes obvious that Nameless is not only Min’s nemesis, but also Kim’s. Nameless contrasts so much to the butler, if you compare their attitude. Nameless might be ruthless, yet he is compassionate and genuine. And he is not running away from any responsibility and from reality, he is not putting the blame on others.
As a first conclusion, Kim has always manipulated people and he was never caught, because he often seems nice and humble. That’s how powerful the butler is. Yet, like I demonstrated, he lied on many occasions and worked in the shadow. That’s why I believe, it can only be recognized if people use their mind’s eye. Moreover, if the painter is a theft, then why shouldn’t the butler be a liar and manipulator? Under this new approach, we can say that Kim took advantage of people’s weaknesses (f. ex. the protagonists’ abandonment issues, Deok-Jae’s greed, Jihwa’s need for attention) explicating why the lord was so reluctant to open up. Besides, giving drugs to people is not right, especially when they are not aware of the real effects. Yoon Seungho is still unaware that he has been fed with the same drug from his youth. If he knew, he would definitely reject it, because he sees his father in a very negative light. As you can anticipate, there is so much more to say about this character, I didn’t even explain the incident with the rape, the missed farewell from the learned sir in chapter 44, the reason why Kim hid the painter’s identity etc… Just an advice, look at the panels where Kim is portrayed without eyes and question the reason for this. With Byeonduck, this is never random.
Feel free to comment. If you have any suggestion for topics or manhwas, feel free to ask. If you enjoyed reading it, retweet it or push the button like. My tumblr-twitter account is: @bebebisous33. Thanks for reading and the support.
Protected: Painter Of The Night: The slaps ✋🥊 in the kaleidoscope (second version)
Bebebisous33s' analyses in K-Dramaland and Manhwas 